Centering the Margins:
Expanding Visions of Boston Dance
Three recent Mass Humanities grantees, The Black Arts Sanctuary (TBAS) The Flavor Continues(TFC), and The Boston Dance Alliance (BDA)/Monkeyhouse, are archiving the local dance ecosystem. Each project centers a different dance community but their stories overlap and intertwine.
Join us in person at Civic Pavilion, which is accessible to people using mobility devices, or via livestream. Both options will include captioning for films.
Expanding Visions of Boston Dance
Three recent Mass Humanities grantees, The Black Arts Sanctuary (TBAS) The Flavor Continues(TFC), and The Boston Dance Alliance (BDA)/Monkeyhouse, are archiving the local dance ecosystem. Each project centers a different dance community but their stories overlap and intertwine.
Join us in person at Civic Pavilion, which is accessible to people using mobility devices, or via livestream. Both options will include captioning for films.
Schedule
12:00pm-12:15pm
Quick welcome from event organizers
12:15pm-12:50pm
Panel discussion of TBAS artists about Ended Up in Boston
1:00pm-1:30pm
TFC video sample
1:30pm-2:00pm
Film samples from Dancing with Disabilities initiated by the Boston Dance Alliance and facilitated through a partnership with Monkeyhouse
2:00pm-2:30pm
Dance party
Quick welcome from event organizers
12:15pm-12:50pm
Panel discussion of TBAS artists about Ended Up in Boston
1:00pm-1:30pm
TFC video sample
1:30pm-2:00pm
Film samples from Dancing with Disabilities initiated by the Boston Dance Alliance and facilitated through a partnership with Monkeyhouse
2:00pm-2:30pm
Dance party
Directions
Civic Pavilion
5 Congress St, Boston, MA 02203
5 Congress St, Boston, MA 02203
Public Transit
Civic Pavilion is about a 3 minute walk from the Government Center stop on the Green Line and from the State Street stop on the Blue and Orange Lines.
Walking directions from Government Center to 5 Congress St, Boston, MA
Walking directions from State Street to 5 Congress Street, Boston, MA
Driving
Driving directions to Civic Pavilion
Driving directions to Haymarket Garage, 136 Blackstone St, Boston, MA
Parking
There is a garage at 136 Blackstone St, Boston, MA 02109 which is a 3 minute walk from Civic Pavilion.
Walking directions from Haymarket Garage to Civic Pavilion
Civic Pavilion is about a 3 minute walk from the Government Center stop on the Green Line and from the State Street stop on the Blue and Orange Lines.
Walking directions from Government Center to 5 Congress St, Boston, MA
Walking directions from State Street to 5 Congress Street, Boston, MA
Driving
Driving directions to Civic Pavilion
Driving directions to Haymarket Garage, 136 Blackstone St, Boston, MA
Parking
There is a garage at 136 Blackstone St, Boston, MA 02109 which is a 3 minute walk from Civic Pavilion.
Walking directions from Haymarket Garage to Civic Pavilion
Centering the Margins Projects
Ended Up In Boston
Ended Up in Boston explores the city’s contributions in nurturing and retaining Black artists.
Join us on a virtual tour of Nubian Square, a location with great promise for Black art in pubic spaces. Our panelists are experts in education, therapeutic practices, and the creative, ‘while being Black in Boston’, process.
Let’s discuss the potential of Nubian Square as one of the best places to be for our community of Black Artists!
Ended Up in Boston explores the city’s contributions in nurturing and retaining Black artists.
Join us on a virtual tour of Nubian Square, a location with great promise for Black art in pubic spaces. Our panelists are experts in education, therapeutic practices, and the creative, ‘while being Black in Boston’, process.
Let’s discuss the potential of Nubian Square as one of the best places to be for our community of Black Artists!
The Torchbearers
Five lifelong practitioners within the Street and Club Dance communities were selected to share their stories. Their experiences show us the impact that these dances and the cultures they belong to can have on an individual -- from providing safe spaces and opportunities to sustain themselves, to giving these individuals a means of expressing their thoughts, ideas, and emotions through movement. As conveners, resource providers, educators, and facilitators, passing on best practices and traditions through stories, conversation, and documentation is crucial to keeping the legacy of Street and Club Dance cultures alive for future generations.
Interviewees:
Zangar "Z" Freeman
Dwayne "Psycho" Thompson
Jenny "Lady Beast"
George "Act1" Lumpkins
Chad Shabazz
Five lifelong practitioners within the Street and Club Dance communities were selected to share their stories. Their experiences show us the impact that these dances and the cultures they belong to can have on an individual -- from providing safe spaces and opportunities to sustain themselves, to giving these individuals a means of expressing their thoughts, ideas, and emotions through movement. As conveners, resource providers, educators, and facilitators, passing on best practices and traditions through stories, conversation, and documentation is crucial to keeping the legacy of Street and Club Dance cultures alive for future generations.
Interviewees:
Zangar "Z" Freeman
Dwayne "Psycho" Thompson
Jenny "Lady Beast"
George "Act1" Lumpkins
Chad Shabazz
Dancing with Disabilities
“Dancing with Disabilities” (DwD), initiated by the Boston Dance Alliance and facilitated through a partnership with Monkeyhouse, is an initiative to archive disability dance history. This online archive will include a timeline of disabled artists starting from the 1940s to our present time organized by birth year, to honor the ways in which Crip Time works and acknowledging ways in which we navigate our career. While we have begun this project focused on Massachusetts artists as we expand it, we are amplifying Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Southwest Asian Disabled artists. DwD welcomes all forms of disability identities including: D/deaf, hard of hearing, hearing impaired, deafblind, visible disabilities, dynamic disabilities, limb difference, invisible disabilities, mad, neurodivergent, Autistic, chronically ill, Down Syndrome, and many more! We are defining a dance career fluidly, acknowledging that lack of dance training opportunities, lack of performance opportunities, and other systemic barriers have shaped how we navigate our careers. We welcome anyone who identifies as a dancer, choreographer, and anything in-between to participate. We are welcoming ALL dance forms that includes but not limited to cultural dance forms, avant garde, experimental, interdisciplinary, jazz, world dance, and many more!
“Dancing with Disabilities” (DwD), initiated by the Boston Dance Alliance and facilitated through a partnership with Monkeyhouse, is an initiative to archive disability dance history. This online archive will include a timeline of disabled artists starting from the 1940s to our present time organized by birth year, to honor the ways in which Crip Time works and acknowledging ways in which we navigate our career. While we have begun this project focused on Massachusetts artists as we expand it, we are amplifying Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Southwest Asian Disabled artists. DwD welcomes all forms of disability identities including: D/deaf, hard of hearing, hearing impaired, deafblind, visible disabilities, dynamic disabilities, limb difference, invisible disabilities, mad, neurodivergent, Autistic, chronically ill, Down Syndrome, and many more! We are defining a dance career fluidly, acknowledging that lack of dance training opportunities, lack of performance opportunities, and other systemic barriers have shaped how we navigate our careers. We welcome anyone who identifies as a dancer, choreographer, and anything in-between to participate. We are welcoming ALL dance forms that includes but not limited to cultural dance forms, avant garde, experimental, interdisciplinary, jazz, world dance, and many more!
Dancing with Disabilities Team
|
karen Krolak
Vanessa Cruz Nicole Harris |
Project Manager
Humanities Advisor Archive Architect |
Meet the Supporters
Centering the Margins, Ended Up in Boston, The Flavor Continues, and Dancing With Disabilities are funded in part by Mass Humanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities
Ended Up in Boston is also funded in part by the Boston Cultural Council and Monkeyhouse
|
|
Dancing With Disabilities is also funded in part by the
The Boston Dance Alliance, Mass Cultural Council's Innovation Fund, and the South Hadley and Malden Cultural Councils.
The Boston Dance Alliance, Mass Cultural Council's Innovation Fund, and the South Hadley and Malden Cultural Councils.
|
|
|
Please take a moment to thank the folks who are supporting these projects (links in logos above) and the state government who votes to fund those agencies!
Meet the Organizers
|
The Black Arts Sanctuary (TBAS) Ended Up in Boston |
"Black art has always existed, it just hasn't been looked for in the right places." Romare Bearden, African American African-American artist, author, and songwriter.
The new way to museum.
The Black Arts Sanctuary celebrates artists of the African diaspora and archives their contributions to Black American and Caribbean history and storytelling. Launched in 2021 by Cassandre Charles, a first-generation Haitian American born and raised in Boston, MA with an extensive background in visual and performing arts, The Black Arts Sanctuary disrupts narratives that erase or appropriate the impact of BIPOC artists on Boston culture.
Monkeyhouse is the official fiscal sponsor of TBAS's Project: "Ended Up In Boston". Information about the tours will be available at libraries in Boston and through an online map. Cassandre Charles is a member of the Boston Dance Alliance’s Dance and Disability cohort and will consult with other cohort members to ensure the accessibility of the launch event and the audio tour. Ended Up in Boston will be housed on an application that can be used by both Android and iPhones to allow for a wide spectrum of cell phone users. The tour will be available for free 24 hours a day and people can take in the tour at a pace that works for their bodies. Using this augmented reality audio, we are hoping to reflect on the history of tech innovation of the region and encourage participants to see how Boston earned its reputation as The Walking City.
The new way to museum.
The Black Arts Sanctuary celebrates artists of the African diaspora and archives their contributions to Black American and Caribbean history and storytelling. Launched in 2021 by Cassandre Charles, a first-generation Haitian American born and raised in Boston, MA with an extensive background in visual and performing arts, The Black Arts Sanctuary disrupts narratives that erase or appropriate the impact of BIPOC artists on Boston culture.
Monkeyhouse is the official fiscal sponsor of TBAS's Project: "Ended Up In Boston". Information about the tours will be available at libraries in Boston and through an online map. Cassandre Charles is a member of the Boston Dance Alliance’s Dance and Disability cohort and will consult with other cohort members to ensure the accessibility of the launch event and the audio tour. Ended Up in Boston will be housed on an application that can be used by both Android and iPhones to allow for a wide spectrum of cell phone users. The tour will be available for free 24 hours a day and people can take in the tour at a pace that works for their bodies. Using this augmented reality audio, we are hoping to reflect on the history of tech innovation of the region and encourage participants to see how Boston earned its reputation as The Walking City.
|
The Flavor Continues (TFC) The Torchbearers |
The Flavor Continues (TFC) est. 2019, is the first community led non-profit 501(c)(3) organization exclusively serving Street and Club dance in the Greater Boston area. It is spearheaded by members within the Street and Club dance communities pursuing a sustainable foundation for the culture. The formation of this organization is in response to the never ending need to provide resources and uplift members of the marginalized communities by promoting well-being, education, employment, and social justice - all through the various Street and Club dance forms.
“The flavor continues” was first used as a moniker, eventually evolving into a statement representing the organization’s consistent dedication in providing for the community. Seeing value in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual blessings this culture brings to the world, TFC believes in returning the same gifts back to the culture by providing opportunities, advocacy, and promoting unity. We center our values on authenticity, merit, integrity, collaboration, and preservation, and have a centralized goal in sharing the true meaning behind each art form.
Starting as an organization focused solely on curating dance events, TFC soon found themselves at the intersection of historical and community preservation, education, and public health. Now, TFC seeks to contribute to the culture by continuing to serve through transformative and novel methods in its programming. In collaborative efforts to work alongside other organizations and individuals, The Flavor Continues strives to open up opportunities for fellow creatives to strengthen their connections with one another through various mediums and platforms, generating an ecosystem that fuels and bridges both the creative and professional landscape.
“The flavor continues” was first used as a moniker, eventually evolving into a statement representing the organization’s consistent dedication in providing for the community. Seeing value in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual blessings this culture brings to the world, TFC believes in returning the same gifts back to the culture by providing opportunities, advocacy, and promoting unity. We center our values on authenticity, merit, integrity, collaboration, and preservation, and have a centralized goal in sharing the true meaning behind each art form.
Starting as an organization focused solely on curating dance events, TFC soon found themselves at the intersection of historical and community preservation, education, and public health. Now, TFC seeks to contribute to the culture by continuing to serve through transformative and novel methods in its programming. In collaborative efforts to work alongside other organizations and individuals, The Flavor Continues strives to open up opportunities for fellow creatives to strengthen their connections with one another through various mediums and platforms, generating an ecosystem that fuels and bridges both the creative and professional landscape.
TFC Team
|
Brian Lim
Jinyi Duan Bao Pham Alex Ambila |
Co-Founder and Operations Director
Co-Founder and Executive Director Creative Director Artistic Director |
|
|
Monkeyhouse Dancing with Disabilities |
Monkeyhouse is an award winning nonprofit that connects communities through choreography and encourages people of all ages to move with meaning. Founded in 2000 by co-Artistic Directors karen Krolak (she/her) and Nicole Harris (she/her), Monkeyhouse began with a promise to build a laboratory where choreographers could create, experiment and present new work. Monkeyhouse projects continue to mentor, nurture, and support local, national, and international choreographers ranging from students first experimenting to established favorites. Nicole and karen have been collaborating on projects in a diverse range of media for over 20 years and both women have acquired invisible disabilities that shape their own creative practices. Empathy is a tremendous motivator for them. Their openness about their invisible barriers encouraged Monkeyhouse to participate in the Mass Cultural Council’s Innovation and Learning Network, the BDA’s Dance & Disability initiative, and Dance/USA’s Deaf & Disabled Affinity Group. Their embodied understanding of unpredictable pain has helped them to connect with other marginalized communities and artists to establish the trust required to have difficult conversations about trauma and repair. They know that this trust must be continually earned with the same tenacity that has been a hallmark of their professional relationship for over two decades.
Accessibility
Civic Pavilion is accessible for those with mobility devices.
Films will be captioned.
The JJ Omelagah Access Doula Kit will be available for basic and sensory access needs.
A livestream of the event will be available as well as a recording after the event.
Do you have an access need we can meet to make this event more accessible to you? Please let us know when you RSVP!
Films will be captioned.
The JJ Omelagah Access Doula Kit will be available for basic and sensory access needs.
A livestream of the event will be available as well as a recording after the event.
Do you have an access need we can meet to make this event more accessible to you? Please let us know when you RSVP!
