Dance/NYC to Host 'Redefining Practice' Town Hall Series

Dance/NYC has announced Redefining Practice, a five-part town hall series continuing the work of its justice, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

This suite of programs, held online with one in-person convening, hosts a variety of dialogues with distinct cultural and community groups that explore how artists and institutions are adapting, unlearning, and innovating new ways of being in creation-- prioritizing learnings in racial justice, safety, and community care.

All events will take place from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. ET. Town halls are free and open to the public; registration is required.

Register at http://bit.ly/RedefiningPractice. ASL interpretation and closed captioning will be provided. To learn www.dance.nyc/programs/dancenyc-events more about the town halls, participants, and program visit https://www.dance.nyc/programs/dancenyc-events .

Series Schedule

Asian American Choreography Tea House

October, 6 2021 at 6 p.m. ET | Online Only

This discussion, curated and moderated by Final Bow for Yellowface Co-Founder Phil Chan and held with Asian and Asian American choreographers, unpacks the complex relationship between identity and how these artists choose to express their Asian cultural heritage. The event offers 'redefined practices' to respond to the barriers Asian American dance creatives face, both internally within their communities as well as externally through avenues for presentation.

Confirmed Speakers:

• Annie Heath, Choreographer and Dancer

• Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Choreographer and Dancer, A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham

• Nai-Ni Chen, Choreographer and Artistic Director of Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

• Zhong-Jing Fang, Dancer, Choreographer and Soloist, American Ballet Theatre

Oceanic Currents: Indigenous Pacific Island Movement Artists

October 13, 2021 at 6 p.m. ET | Online Only

Weaving together womanist, queer/trans, and progressive Indigenous Pacific movement artists in New York City and the diaspora, this gathering seeks to strengthen internal and external community ties, and further Native dance futures. Intersectional Pacific Islander choreographers and dancers, cultural practitioners and critics, artists and activists, will engage in conversation about the multiple current and historical challenges facing Oceanian movement makers and their larger creative communities. Through talk story and sharings of their movement practices, the moderators, presenters, and discussants will share aspects of their solo and collaborative artistry, and discuss how to create shared spaces of joy, innovation, mutual support, and resistance. Surviving the economic and health challenges of disproportionate impacts of a multi-year coronavirus pandemic, ongoing and intensified intersectional violence and oppression, environmental assaults and challenges to Native sovereignty, and colonial conservative settler political systems, Indigenous Pacific movement artists remain resilient, mobile, and active continuers of sovereign movements. Co-organized and co-moderated by Anthony Aiu and Kaina Quenga, Choreographers/Dancers and Co-Directors of Te Ao Mana. Curated and co-organized by Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán, Multimedia Artist, Editor, Educator, and Activist/Organizer.

Confirmed Speakers:

• Pele Bauch, Interdisciplinary Choreographer & Dance Dramaturg

• Dakota Camacho, Artist/Researcher & Co-Founder/Creative Director of Gi Matan Guma'

• Lehuanani DeFranco, Dancer/Choreographer & Indigenous/Environmental Rights Activist

• Carol Noelani Lau, Cultural Practitioner/Advocate & Co-Organizer of Pua Ali'i 'Ilima o Nuioka

Dialogue Participants/Discussants:

• Leiana San Agustin Naholowaʻa, Writer, Editor, & Filmmaker

• No'u Revilla, ʻŌiwi queer poet, performer & educator based in Hawaiʻi nei

Dancers Protecting Their Labor

October 20, 2021 at 6 p.m. ET | Online Only

Presented in partnership with Dance/USA. Curated and moderated by Candace Thompson-Zachery, Dance/NYC Senior Manager of Programming and Justice Initiatives.

This dialogue unpacks the workforce experiences of dancers across genres and those who work to champion livelihoods in dance. Bringing together dance workers and advocates, the conversation offers a range of perspectives from a labor standpoint that respond to ongoing economic scarcity and inequity across the dance field, and point to collective ways to redefine current practices.

Confirmed Speakers:

• DHQ Brat, Choreographer/Dancer/Teacher/Co-Founder of Queen Moves

• DANC Representative

Re-entering With Care: A Community Town Hall

October 27, 2021 at 6 p.m. ET | Online Only

Part town hall, part community conversation, this event unpacks what it might mean to "re-enter" the dance field as the NYC dance community begins to resume in-person performances. While the onset of the pandemic marked an abrupt and jarring halt to movement practices, returning to the studio does not have to happen similarly. Curated by the Dance/NYC Junior Committee and using tools drawn from both within the Committee and from Junebug Productions' "Story Circle" methodology, this event offers 'redefined practices' to return to the studio while taking care of physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Curated and organized by the Dance/NYC Junior Committee.

Afro-Latinidad and the NYC Dance Ecology

November 3, 2021 at 6 p.m. ET | Online and In-Person

Presented in partnership with Ballet Hispánico, the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, and the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Location: The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023 More detail about these sessions will be released on Dance/NYC's website.

Promotional materials: Redefining Practice Series toolkit. All Press and Media inquiries please contact Michelle Tabnick at michelle@michelletabnickpr.com (press images and other media opportunities).

Dance/NYC convening is made possible, in part, by support from the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts and from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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