LA Philharmonic's Ford Digital Festival Presents MOVEMENT/MATTERS Series

The LA Phil's Ford Digital Festivals are curator-led virtual programs offering an in-depth exploration of a single theme through multi-disciplinary performances, workshops and conversations captured for video.

Curated by historian Tyree Boyd-Pates, Movement/Matters offers an exploration of Black Street and Club Dance in Los Angeles, beginning in the 1970s with Soul Train and ending in 2020 with the intersection of Dance Activism and the Black Lives Matter movement. Viewers will have the opportunity to hear from the pioneers and innovators of Voguing and the West Coast Ballroom scene, Krumping, and Clowning. A combination of interviews, panels and prerecorded short dance films, Movement/Matters honors how a generation of L.A. dancers have found connection, care, power and potential on the dance floor and in the streets.

Movement/Matters will be released in six installments at 10am on Saturday, November 21. Installments include:

1970s: Soul Train Alumni Panel

The Ford welcomes Soul Train dancers Flo Jenkins, Thelma Davis-Martin, James Higgins - better known as Skeeter Rabbit - and the one-and-only Damita Jo Freeman to discuss how Soul Train informed Black identity in the 1970s and '80s and how its impact continues to be felt today in dance, music, fashion and media.

1980s: Voguing and West Coast Ballroom

One of the co-founders of West Coast Ballroom Scene, producer of the Ovahness Ball,and creator of The House of AWT, the Legendary Sean/Milan™ Garcon is joined by Cuauhtemoc Peranda, the Overall Prince DonTé Lauren of The Legendary House of Lauren, International, in a conversation about the origins of the West Coast scene, the basics of voguing and the importance of the community for LGBTQIA+ youth.

1990s: Clowning

Movement/Matters curator Tyree Boyd-Pates and dance legend Tommy the Clown join in conversation about South L.A. in the early '90s, how clowning was a response to that era and Tommy's continued to mission to engage young people in dance.

2000s: Krumping

Boyd-Pates is joined by Brandon Allen Juezan-Williams a.k.a. "Beast Boy" and Jackie Lopez of the Versa-Style Dance Company to discuss how Krumping, an aggressive successor to Clown Dancing, reflected the emotion of the era and sparked a movement in Los Angeles dance. Includes short dance film Powers That Be.

2010s: Dance Activism and Black Lives Matters

Boyd-Pates is joined by original BLM-LA member and Dance Activism founder Dr. Shamell Bell for a discussion of the intersection of dance, protest and the necessity of self-care. Includes short dance films Hold On and It's Been a Long Time Coming.

2020: Lula Washington Dance Theatre

Concluding the festival is a company that has defined Black Dance in Los Angeles for the last 40 years, the Lula Washington Dance Theatre. Pioneering choreographer and educator Lula Washington is joined in conversation by her daughter Tamica Washington-Miller about the connection between dance and social activism and the making of the Black Lives Matter-inspired Lift Every Voice.

Short Films

Movement/Matter's panels and interviews are interspersed by four short dance films: Lift Every Voice, Hold On, Powers That Be and It's Been a Long Time Coming featuring Lula Washington Dance Theatre, Versa-Style Dance Company, Jo'Artis "Big Mijo" Ratti, Sam Donohue, Aahkilah, Greg 6adnewz Aldana, Hitmakerchinx, Hob Dot, Rameer Colon and Sasha Mallory.

For more information visit https://www.theford.com/concerts-and-events/ford-digital-festivals/movement-matters

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