Black women in ballet speak out: February 2 [UPDATED]

Dance Iquail, in partnership with Dance/NYC and HAA: Harlem Arts Alliance, will presents Black Swan: Solidarity Beyond Colored Pointe Shoes on Monday, February 2, 6:30pm at The Riverside Theater.

This free panel discussion of women of color in the ballet world "examines the importance of resilience as seen in the stresses on black artists, communities and institutions" and "how dance as an art form can help organizations and individuals adapt and recover from the stress of racial segregation, diminished resources, and social disenfranchisement."

Scheduled to speak:

Baraka Sele (moderator), Independent arts consultant, former VP of Programming at NJPAC

Zita Allen, dance historian

Delores Brown, former ballet dancer and teacher, member of NY Negro Ballet in 1957

Karen "KB" Brown, former Artistic Director Oakland Ballet

Andrea Long-Naidu,  former NYCB and DTH dancer

Iqail Shaheed, Artistic Director, Dance Iquail, choreographer of Black Swan, a new work set to the music of Nina Simone, exploring "the experience of the black ballerina as a window into issues of race, identity, and isolation"

Monday, February 2, 6:30pm (free admission)

Limited seating. RSVPs recommended: iquail@danceiquail.com

The Riverside Theater
The Riverside Church
91 Claremont Avenue, Manhattan
By Train - #1 to 116th and Columbia University
By Bus - M4, M104, M60 to 120th and Broadway
Enter on Claremont and 121st Street.

Camille A. Brown's The Gathering, a rousing success

The visionary Camille A. Brown
who created and convened The Gathering
(c)2014, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

With Baraka Sele (left), discussion moderator
for Brown's historic event
(photo by Cynthia Oliver)

Just do what you do.

-- Katherine Dunham

The Gathering--a special event conceived and convened by Camille A. Brown to offer safe space to discuss issues of concern to Black women choreographers--drew a huge, delighted response and support from all sectors of the field, including men, last evening. Brown--most recently hailed for her powerful evening-length work, Mr. TOL E. RAncE--realized her goal, not only drawing from her own peer group but an inter-generational, intercultural community including arts administrators, educators, journalists, presenters and supporters. Looking around the room, one could spot dance notables such as Dianne McIntyre, Sylvia Waters, Brenda Dixon Gottschild, Ronald K. Brown, Nathan Trice, Elka Samuels Smith, Cynthia Oliver, Edisa Weeks, Paloma McGregor, Matthew Rushing, Renee Robinson, Theresa Howard and many more from New York and beyond. Frankly, the vibes in that City Center studio were mind-blowing!

Moderator Baraka Sele set a respectful, positive and productive tone, creating an atmosphere for deep listening and the discovery of resources we can share. She urged us to focus not on problems but on facts, solutions and our individual and collective responsibilities.

We spoke of numerous issues--from the prevalence of racism throughout the arts system and the need to "de-center" whiteness to a call for adequate resources for physical and emotional wellness for the dancer. Participants cited interests in securing more time and affordable space to develop work, meaningful collaboration, community building and, of course, more funding for our projects. We called for better feedback on creative work, both artist-to-artist and via published critiques. Of course, I mentioned the need for more writers of color in dance journalism and sustainability for all writers on dance.

Time was short but, while we could not address in depth every item on our list, we felt confident that The Gathering will generate future activity and exciting collaborations.

Congratulations and deepest thanks to Camille A. Brown and Baraka Sele!

Write to company_manager@camilleabrown.org to get on the mailing list for The Gathering.

Moving with ancestral spirits: Dr. Marta Moreno Vega at NJPAC

Meet

Dr. Marta Moreno Vega

Saturday, May 4 (3-5pm)

Chase Room, New Jersey Performing Arts Center

screening of 

Let the Spirit Move You!  Espiritismo in Puerto Rico

Advance screening of Dr. Marta Moreno Vega's new film and research regarding ancestral Kongo-based sacred tradition of Espiritismo in Puerto Rico. Dr. Vega explores the divine knowledge of traditional elders and practitioners and expresses the concern that the tradition will not be passed on / transferred to younger generations because traditional practices are in danger of not continuing.

Also, learn more about Dr. Vega's life-long legacy and work in the following clips, including an excerpt from the HBO documentary: Latino List.

Baraka Sele

guest curator / moderator

information and tickets

NJPAC directions

    Latino List - Marta Moreno Vega Interview on Vimeo

    Latina Spotlight: Dr. Marta Moreno Vega on New Latina

New date for Bill T. Jones at NJPAC

UPDATE from NJPAC:

The following event has been rescheduled from December to February 19. Bill T. Jones has been selected as one of the recipients of the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors (The Kennedy Center Honors). He will receive his award with other luminaries, such as Oprah Winfrey and Sir Paul McCartney at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. The presentation will be televised nationally and President and Mrs. Obama will be in attendance. Tickets already purchased will be valid for the February 19th discussion. Patrons with questions should contact NJPAC Ticket Services at 1-888-GO-NJPAC  (466-5722).

New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), in downtown Newark, welcomes award-winning choreographer-director Bill T. Jones to its Alternate Routes "tell-all" discussion series Legacies and Legends.

Saturday, February 19, 7:30PM in The Chase Room (event description)

Legacies and Legends is a series of intimate conversations with artists, authors, scholars, entrepreneurs, filmmakers and others who have contributed to the cultural, educational, social, political and spiritual contexts and landscapes of society. All discussions are led by Baraka Sele, Producer/Curator of NJPAC’s Alternate Routes. In its inaugural season, the series hosted discussions with Susan L. Taylor and Judith Jamison.

For ticketing, directions to NJPAC and more information, call 1-888-GO-NJPAC (1-888-466-5722) or click here.

Bill T. Jones tells all! (NEW DATE)

UPDATE from NJPAC:

The following event has been rescheduled from December to February 19. Bill T. Jones has been selected as one of the recipients of the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors (The Kennedy Center Honors). He will receive his award with other luminaries, such as Oprah Winfrey and Sir Paul McCartney at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. The presentation will be televised nationally and President and Mrs. Obama will be in attendance. Tickets already purchased will be valid for the February 19th discussion. Patrons with questions should contact NJPAC Ticket Services at 1-888-GO-NJPAC  (466-5722).

*****

New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), in downtown Newark, welcomes award-winning choreographer-director Bill T. Jones to its Alternate Routes "tell-all" discussion series Legacies and Legends.

Saturday, February 19, 7:30PM in The Chase Room (event description)

Legacies and Legends is a series of intimate conversations with artists, authors, scholars, entrepreneurs, filmmakers and others who have contributed to the cultural, educational, social, political and spiritual contexts and landscapes of society. All discussions are led by Baraka Sele, Producer/Curator of NJPAC’s Alternate Routes. In its inaugural season, the series hosted discussions with Susan L. Taylor and Judith Jamison.

For ticketing, directions to NJPAC and more information, call 1-888-GO-NJPAC (1-888-466-5722) or click here.

Apollinaire Scherr to speak on dance criticism

Critic, journalist and blogger Apollinaire Scherr invites you to her keynote address at the Dance Critics Association Conference this Friday, July 16 (9:30am) at NYU Kimmel Center at 60 Washington Square South. Get directions and more nifty details at Scherr's own blog post here.

Scherr's topic?

"How to write criticism that leaves room for dance's future"

She promises answers that are "provisional, hopeful and possibly cause for debate and fuming."

So, if you're up for some fuming, but you're not registered for the DCA conference, Scherr has a deal for you. You can get into the keynote event for a mere $8. But you absolutely must click here to pay in advance, okay?

BTW, if you do go to the DCA conference, you'll find me--your friendly grassroots blogger--on a panel at Dance Theater Workshop with Eiko of Eiko & Koma, writer Valerie Gladstone, presenter Baraka Sele, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar of Urban Bush Woman, and writer Lori Ortiz (moderator). We're talking Cultural Exchange in 2010. I hope to see you there!

Legendary Jamison at NJPAC

New Jersey Performing Arts Center welcomes Judith Jamison on Thursday, May 6 at 7:30pm:

Legacies & Legends: Judith Jamison

Ms. Baraka Sele, Curator/Producer

All seats $28

NJPAC’s new Legacies and Legends is a series of intimate conversations with artists, authors, scholars, entrepreneurs, and other special guests who have made significant contributions to the cultural, social, political and spiritual landscapes that impact our lives. For this installment in the series, we'll spend an intimate evening with Judith Jamison, the legendary dancer, choreographer and artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

For additional information and ticketing, click here. For directions to NJPAC, click here.

Addressing race: Thank you, DanceNYC!

Last evening at the Ailey studios, DanceNYC--under the courageous and energetic leadership of its director, Michelle Burkhart--hosted a valuable conversation on the issue of race in the dance field, focused on the scarcity of arts administrators of color. The organization's first town hall on race, held in 2007, was devoted to dance artists.

Researcher Ebonie Pittman presented the results of her study of sixteen dance organizations, including the unsurprising but still unacceptable conclusion that the preponderance of dance administrators and dance audiences are Caucasian. That means that the majority of the people doing marketing and development--and thus, tasked with reaching out to a diverse potential audience--do not reflect the diversity of that community. Pittman said that she concluded that, while she found no evidence of blatant discrimination, it was clear that the dance field has not been keeping up with communities that should be served.

Pittman's interesting presentation was followed by a lively discussion, moderated by Baraka Sele (Assistant VP for Programming and Curator/Producer at New Jersey Performing Arts Center) and including George Banks, author of The Issue of Race, Sharon Williams, Director of Development, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Cassandra Oliveras, Director of Marketing, Ballet Hispanico.

Among other topics, the panelists and audience addressed barriers to inclusivity and solutions to the lack of awareness of opportunities in the field of arts administration. They cited the need for effective training of future administrators and the significance of mentorship from accessible veterans in the field.

To paraphrase one of Sele's remarks, talking about a problem or concern is indeed a form of action. Clearly, these conversations within the dance community are essential to our development and must continue. I commend DanceNYC for taking up this task, and I look forward to their future forums on race.

To connect with DanceNYC, click here.