Dancing Adventures Near and Far!

We are so excited that Jacob’s Pillow has unveiled the new design of the reimagined Doris Duke Theatre! Members of BDA’s Dance and Disability cohort played a small but crucial role in helping to envision accessibility features that will make this a welcoming space for all and a model for 21st century dance. We can’t wait to see the performances that are possible and the artists it will inspire!

 

The Massachusetts House has approved $25M for the Mass Cultural Council! They also approved 16 earmarks totaling $895K for local arts and cultural organizations.

$25M would mean an 11% increase to Mass Cultural Council’s existing operating budget and an essential step in building public investments for the creative sector. Thank you to everyone who advocated for this increase!

 

Dancer mid hike stands on rock on one leg and kicks the other leg up.

Exploring Authentic Connection to Self and Others is a sound and movement workshop focused on connection to Self, self-attunement and authentic connection to others. In this workshop, you will explore this concept through a body scan, breathwork, making sounds, and movement. Monday, May 8, 6:00-7:15 PM at The Dance Complex, Cambridge.

 

Monthly contact improvisation poster with illustration of jar of jam and a slice of bread with jam on a paper plate

Join the Field Center’s Monthly CI Jam on the second Wednesday of each month. Drop in and take class or just join for the open jam! Class runs from 6:30 – 7:30 PM and the Open Jam runs 7:30 – 9:30 PM. Tea and coffee are on the house. All are welcome to bring food or snacks to share. Wednesday, May 10, 61 Williams Rd., Chester, VT.

 

Yamini Kalluri in traditional Kuchipudi attire holds arms bent in front of body on a high diagonal and gazes up above arms.

Kuchipudi dancer Yamini Kalluri dances to Bach’s D minor Partita on a special program with Vijay Gupta, “When the Violin“. Wednesday, May 10, 7-8 PM, 321 Main St, Worcester, MA.

 

Sara in a 80's dress and heels on stage hinging back with one leg lifted and arms open wide.

Sara Juli’s Naughty Bits is a performance piece that explores the impacts of trauma on the brain stemming from sexual assault as a child. Interweaving regressed thinking with a conflicted inner voice, coupled with finding the humor in the tragic, the work breaks down victimhood to ultimately reclaim the mind. Wednesday, May 10, 7 PM, at SPACE, 538 Congress, St Portland, ME.

 

Land Dance Rituals poster with event information displayed over a photo of yellow flowers in a field.

Join Lisa Nevada, Tyler Rai, and the ecology of The Field Center for four days of movement, performance scores, and dances shaped by the land and the work of the late Anna Halprin. Enjoy the Land Dance RitualsThursday, May 11- Monday, May 15 at the Field Center, 61 Williams Rd., Chester, VT.

 

Large group of dancers clumped together looking and reaching in different directions.

Boston Conservatory at Berklee presents FORWARD: Senior Dance Showcase, featuring graduating contemporary dance B.F.A. students. This concert  features a diverse program of works choreographed by Brian Brooks, Levi Philip Marsman, Celeste Robbins (’19), Bradley Shelver, Jim Viera, and the graduating class of 2023. Thursday, May 11, 7 PM at the Boston Conservatory Theater, 31 Hemenway Street, Floor 2, Boston

 

"Pachedu" written in a collage of performance photos over a yellow background.

Watch Williams College’s Pachedu for their all-ensembles performance. This year the students and faculty will examine performances as a collective of movement and storytelling practitioners. Thursday, May 11 & Friday, May 12, 7 PM at the 67 Center for Theatre & Dance, 1000 Main Street, Williamstown.

 

The Jump Off poster with event information displayed over a black and gold satin-like background.

OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center and the Black Market Nubian Square invite everyone to their social mixer, The Jump Off! Come together as a community to celebrate accomplishments and to learn about their programs. There will be a live DJ, performances, and light refreshments! Friday May 12, 6 PM at The Black Market.

 

Photo of an elegant gala table set up with glasses and flowers.

The Celebrity Series’ 2023 SHINE! Gala celebrates the power of the performing arts to foster meaningful connection and collaboration in our increasingly divided world. Friday, May 12, 6:30 PM, Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts

 

Dark photo of dancers in a performance space: one stands upright while three others hunch forward.

MacArthur Fellow Okwui Okpokwasili returns to the ICA with a world-premiere performance combining movement, song, and storytelling. In adaku, part 1: the road opens, Okpokwasili (writer, performer, and choreographer) and Peter Born (director, designer, filmmaker) reframe the oral traditions of West African griot poets and musicians, importing and updating ancient techniques for contemporary audiences.  Friday, May 12 & Saturday, May 13 at 8 PM.

 

Watch City logo with winged magnifying glass amplifying a pocket watch.

Enjoy a day filled with performances and vendors including aerialists, Ruth Levin and Lynn Modell, a steampunk bellydance show and lots of kids’ activities at the Watch City Steampunk Festival in downtown Waltham. Saturday, May 13, 10 AM-5 PM.

 

Roxbury Community College 50 years logo.

Dance is a big part of the Roxbury Community College 50th Anniversary Homecoming Celebration which starts on Thursday, May 11. Homecoming festivities will include discussion panels, commencement, a Community Block Party with food trucks, activities, over 15 local vendors and several performances. On Saturday, May 13, the RCC Media Arts Center hosts a 1 PM Step Show by OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center  and at 7:30 PM a Night of Hip-hop featuring  performances by Red Shaydez, REKS, Edo. G, and BAMS Fest managing director Paul Willis.

 

Dancer in pointe shoes and dress stands on pointe and lifts one leg backwards while another dancer in a suit stands and applauds.

Join the first weekend of shows for Dance Now Boston featuring The Bang Group, Janelle Gilchrist, Meghan McLyman & Kristen Duffy Young & Jenny Oliver (commissioned and performed by Boston Dance Theater’s Trainee Program). Dance Now creates a creative bridge between NYC and Boston by commissioning Boston choreographers to bring or create work for shared programs. Saturday, May 13, 8 PM & Sunday, May 14, 7 PM at The Dance Complex.

 

 

Boston WiP poster with grainy background predominantly blue with warmer tones on the lower left side.

 

Boston WiP is a low stakes platform for dance and performing artists to present movement driven work. This first installment (of what we hope will be a bi-annual showcase) will be held in the Jackson Gym Dance Lab at Tufts University. Tickets for Boston WiP are donation based/pay-what-you can. All money from ticket sales will be given to the presenting artists! We appreciate your support!

Presenting artists:

Soyoung L Kim | the ChoreoJoey Project | Andrea Muñiz | Andrews Movement | Rose Wood Dance Collaborative | Detritus Dance | five two Dance Company | Natyaroha | Neta Kinetics | The Picnic Sisters | Carmen Rizzo | Mira Göksel | MELLE.

 

dancer with long straight hair on knees, brings toes towards head as they arch back and toss a long lofty fabric back.

CJT Dream Dance is looking for a ballet teacher and contemporary/modern teacher for beginner and intermediate level located in Burlington, MA for summer and new season. Please contact miat@cjtdreamdance.com if interested!

 

"Audition" written in white over a black and white photo of dancers in a studio bending one arm in front of face and extending one leg across the body on a low diagonal.

David Dorfman Dance (Connecticut and New York) is seeking highly skilled and big-hearted dance artists to fill current and future company roles. Artists with an interest in the investigative process and an excitement to collaborate, strong improvisation and partnering skills and a willingness to work with text fit the requirements. Artists of color, LGBTQIA2S+ and nonbinary artists are strongly encouraged to apply. Apply by May 25.

 

2023 Dalcroze Intensive with intensive information and photo oof dancers hinging back and reaching one arm forward as they bend the other backwards.

Experience the joy and artistry of Dalcroze Education at the Dalcroze Summer Intensive with director Eiko Ishizuka, Diplôme Supérieur and other internationally renowned faculty. Dalcroze Eurhythmics uses rhythmic movement, intense listening, and improvisation to unlock creativity and open the doors to enriched and enlivened music making. Attend the intensive for one, two or three weeks and will take place on the Longy School of Music campus in Cambridge.

 

Deborah Mason Performing Arts Center offers summer intensives for all ages. The Children’s Summer Dance for ages 7-10 runs from June 26-30. Between July 10-28, intermediate dancers ages 10+ are welcome to join the Bridge Program Dance Intensive. Intermediate/advanced dancers ages 12+ may join the CYDP Dance Company Intensive. Additionally, advanced pre-professional dancers ages 14+  are welcome to the Master Series.

 

Summer Creative Arts Sessions poster with graphic design illustrations of activities that will be performed each day.

Partners for Youth with Disabilities‘ Access to Theater program provides arts-focused social development to youth ages 14-22 with and without disabilities. Their free summer Theater program will cover topics in theater, improv, visual arts, or dance over a six week period beginning July 10-August 18 located in downtown Boston.

 

HIT by SEVENTEEN comes to the sidewalk outside Quincy Market

 

The sun is shining, the trees are flowering, and it’s time to dance everywhere. You’ll notice that we’ve listed events across the state and through New England as travel becomes easier and our spirits more adventurous.

This is the last week to get Early Bird Pricing on tickets to the BDA Gala on June 15Don’t wait! And for further discounts, join or renew your BDA membership! It’s going to be a great event!

Best wishes,

__________
Debra Cash, Executive Director