Bronx Choreographer Alethea Pace Premieres New Work in 2022 Boogie Down Dance Series

The Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance springs forward with the 21st annual BOOGIE DOWN DANCE SERIES that began Saturday, April 23 and continues to Friday, May 27 at BAAD!, 2474 Westchester Square in the Westchester Square section of the Bronx. Alethea Pace, a Bronx-based award-winning dancer/choreographer premieres "Here Goes the Neighborhood," a multimedia performance work that conjures Bronx memories born from turmoil and resilience. The festival also includes the inaugural event igniting the year-long 10th anniversary celebration of Dancing While Black (DWB).

All events are in-person with select events also available via livestream. Ticket prices vary from free to $20. BAAD! offers discounts to BAAD! members, BCA cardholders and NALACqueros, and free admission to residents of 10474 and 10461 zip codes. Ticket offers cannot be combined. Call 718-918-2110 or visit website: www.BAADBronx.org for tix, info and additional directions. The Boogie Down Dance Series receives specific funding from the New York State Council on the Arts, The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the Mertz Gilmore Foundation.

The schedule for the shows and events is as follows:

Friday and Saturday. May 6 & 7 | 7:30PM | $20
ALETHEA PACE: HERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD
This multimedia performance installation conjures Bronx memories born from turmoil and resilience and elevates the wealth of knowledge we hold in our bodies, memories, and histories. Created, directed and performed by Alethea Pace with featured performances by Alexander Diaz and Irungu Mutu, the work includes a video installation created in collaboration with Katherine Miranda that features over 20 people from across NYC expressing memories through movement.

Friday and Saturday, May 13 & 14 | 8pm | $20; [also offered via livestream 0$-$20]
This Dancing Futures Artist is presented by PEPATIÁN & BAAD!
REBECCA GUAL | HUM IN THE HOLLOW
Gual professes that "Bodies can be of the moment and guardians of the past. They contain highways of flowing information..." In this piece, two bodies share a disposition as they travel the highways of their respective states together and via a shared history make their way through their bodies in search of a release.

Thursday, May 19 | 7:30pm | Free [also offered via livestream]
Presented by PEPATIÁN & BAAD!​
DANCING FUTURES: MEET THE ARTISTS & MENTORS!
Meet the artists who have been selected to participate in the ninth annual residency project, Dancing Futures, a unique collaboration between Pepatian and BAAD! Three artists selected by a competitive panel process, receive rehearsal space, mentorship, and professional development opportunities. This evening the artists present a sample of their work, and they'll return to BAAD! in November to present a full evening of work.

Friday, May 20 | 8pm | $20; [also offered via livestream 0$-$20]

Presented by by PEPATIÁN & BAAD!​
DANCING LA BOTANICA
Dancing La Botanica features performances from Bronx-based dance groups - Curet Performance Project, Bombazo Dance Company, and ReDi Dance. Post-show conversation moderated by Leenda Bonilla.

Saturday, May 21 | 10am-6pm | Free
Presented by by PEPATIÁN & BAAD!​
BRONX GROWS DANCE: A Bronx-focused and Youth-led Conference
Bronx Grows Dance is a day-long live and interactive dance that centers the question: How could our youth re-imagine the future of dance if given space and time to gather and ignite? Youth from the Bronx and uptown communities gather, learn, exchange and present to collectively begin shaking up the future ways of thinking of and knowing dance.

Sunday, May 22 | 3pm | Free
Angela's Pulse presents
DANCING WHILE BLACK: STORY CIRCLE
In the spirit of Sankofa, join us in honoring the past, present and future of Dancing While Black. This yearlong Anniversary celebration is co-choreographed by DWB founder Paloma McGregor, Kayla Hamilton (2017-2018 DWB Fellow), Marguerite Hemmings (2015-2016 DWB Fellow) and Joya Powell (2016-2017 DWB Fellow). The Sankofa Story Circles will open DWB's season of public programming that is rooted in deepening community building, resource sharing and, of course, celebration.

​Friday, May 27 | 7pm | Free [also offered via livestream]
DANCING TOGETHER!
Having performed nationally and internationally, the master instructors of BAAD!'s AATT Academy take to the stage in a dance compilation that goes from Capoeira to Vogue, featuring performances from Carlos Borge, Jose Cintron, Violeta Galgarza, Cesar Valentino, Rudy Van Daele, and more!

Also at BAAD! in May:

In Scena! Italian Theater Festival in NY at BAAD! (Performances in Italian with English subtitles)

Tuesday, May 17 | 7pm | $20

EXILE/CONFINA: Pieces for a Missing Tragedy

Written and directed by Alessandro Tampieri, a story inspired by real events about the life of Angelo, a man arrested and exiled under fascism for being gay and who became a symbol of LGBTQ+ perscution.

Tuesday, May 17 | 8:30pm | $20

SMALL FUNERAL/PICCOLI FUNERALI

Written and performed by Maurizio Rippa, this dramatic and musical score alternating a small funeral rite with songs as an act of love dedicated to those who have passed on.

Crowned "a funky and welcoming performance space" by The New York Times, BAAD! is a performance and workshop space that presents cutting-edge works in dance and all creative disciplines that are empowering to women, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. BAAD! is home to Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre (AATT) and the AATT Academy and was founded by Arthur Aviles and Charles Rice-Gonzalez in 1998 in Hunts Point, and moved to Westchester Square in 2013.