Boston Center for the Arts and Boston Dance Alliance are delighted to announce that the Boston Dancemakers Residency for 2019–2020 has been awarded to Jean Appolon of Jean Appolon Expressions and Jessie Jeanne Stinnett of Boston Dance Theater.
The Boston Dancemakers Residency supports experienced dancemakers in the development of original ensemble work over the course of a year. This residency provides a regional three-day retreat, six weeks of intensive studio time, access to discounted rehearsal space, a choreographer stipend, a stipend for a collaborating artist in a non-dance discipline and rehearsal pay for up to six dancers. At the end of the grant year, each choreographer receives production support and marketing for a performance on the BCA campus, and may have opportunities for in-process showings and performances at other venues.
The Boston Dancemakers Residency is adjudicated by an independent panel based on the artist’s video sample, proposed concept, and the potential impact on the development of the artist’s career and risk taken in the creative process. This is the second year this comprehensive opportunity has been offered by Boston Center for the Arts in partnership with Boston Dance Alliance.
Jean Appolon, artistic director of Jean Appolon Expressions (JAE), is an artist whose work often explores Haitian identity and culture. During his Boston Dancemakers Residency, Appolon will develop “Traka” (“Troubles” in Haitian Kreyol)—his first project directly exploring the impact of his father’s murder in Haiti in 1991, and how dance, culture, and community can be pathways to healing for victims of traumatic events. Challenging the stigma around issues of mental health, this residency will include community workshops and collaboration with Haitian-American clinical psychologist Dr. Guerda Nicolas, whose work focuses on the social support networks of Caribbean populations and the mental health of Blacks. Appolon has also been named a finalist for a Production Grant from the National Dance Project (NDP).
Jessie Jeanne Stinnett, who co-directs Boston Dance Theater with Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili, will develop new work on the theme of Boston’s rising seawater levels and the motion of water: flow, overflow, circulation and mixing. Collaborating with Woods Hole oceanographer and photographer Lawrence Pratt, Stinnett envisions a dance work that can be tailored to different settings from the stage to outdoor environmental advocacy events.
The Boston Dancemakers Residency is made possible with support by the Aliad Fund at The Boston Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Molly McDonald, and John G.F. Ruggieri Lam and John D. Lam.