Dance/NYC to Host Aesthetics And Artistry Digital Town Hall

Dance/NYC has announced the Aesthetics and Artistry digital town hall series, a two-part series continuing the work of its justice, equity, and inclusion initiatives, that focuses on investigating practices of artistry within the New York City dance community. Part one will focus on Disability Aesthetics on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 and part two will focus on Immigrant Artistry, Resources, and Community, in partnership with the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, on Wednesday, June 30, 2021.

Disability Aesthetics on June 23: This town hall will be a conversation with Jerron Herman, Kayla Hamilton, Laurel Lawson, and Yo-Yo Lin. As disabled artists and dance companies continue to develop and codify their artistic methods, Disability Aesthetics will consider the evolving aesthetic frameworks within disability artistry and how disabled artists are challenging existing notions of technique, training, and cultural practice. This conversation will explore each artist's approach with the intention of building informed, supportive networks around disability and art.

Disability Aesthetics town hall speaker titles and affiliations:

-Jerron Herman, Dance Artist
-Kayla Hamilton, Human
-Laurel Lawson, Choreographer, Artist-Engineer, Rose Tree Productions
-Yo-Yo Lin, Interdisciplinary Artist, Disability Arts

Immigrant Artistry, Resources, and Community on June 30: This town hall, in partnership with Center for Traditional Music and Dance (CTMD), will celebrate immigrant artistry and discuss the nuances of supporting immigrant artists in the New York City ecosystem. This event will include a short discussion with Center for Traditional Music and Dance's Andrew Colwell and two CTMD-affiliated artists, Öneza Lafontant and Nariman Asanov, as well as short presentations by Angèlica Lara, Mohamed Q. Amin, Réka Echerer, and Rebecca Margolick representing organizations that support immigrant arts workers through advocacy, resources and providing opportunities for fellowship.

"We are extremely excited to be partnering with Dance/NYC on this important event in honor of Immigrant Heritage Month. June is an important time to reflect upon the NYC ecosystem and the role of advocacy organizations and community partners in making it more equitable for all." - Andrew Colwell, PhD, Project Director and Staff Ethnomusicologist for Center for Traditional Music and Dance, a Dance/NYC Justice. Equity. Inclusion partner.

Immigrant Artistry, Resources, and Community town hall speaker titles and affiliations:

-Andrew Colwell, Project Director and Staff Ethnomusicologist, Center for Traditional Music and Dance
-Angèlica Lara, Education & Outreach Director, UnLocal, Inc.
-Mohamed Q. Amin, Founder & Executive Director, Caribbean Equality Project
-Nariman Asanov, Musician, The New York Crimean Tatars Ensemble
-Öneza Lafontant, Teaching Artist
-Rebecca Margolick, Dancer, Choreographer; Member Dance Artists National Collective (DANC)
-Réka Echerer, Dance Artist & Arts Advocate, International Dancers Circle, Dance Artists National Collective (DANC)
-Representative, New York Foundation for the Arts

The town halls will take place from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., online, and registration is required. The town halls are free and open to the public. ASL interpretation and closed captioning will be provided. Register at http://bit.ly/AestheticsAndArtistry. To learn more about the town halls, participants, and program visit www.dance.nyc/programs/dancenyc-events.