6:30pm
Examining the meaning of true Community Engagement with Armour Dance Theatre’s Ruth Wiesen
We are taking you “Backstage” at the Cultural Competence and Equity Coalition with a conversation curated to support our members in examining the traditional model of “Community engagement” and extending an invitation to explore more the possibilities of creating programs that truly serve. We enlisted the legendary Ruth Wiesen the Artistic Director of the Miami based Armour Dance Theatre (ADT) and has been a staple in the Miami Dance Community for decades. Wiesen and ADT have used dance a gateway to quality education and opportunities for the children who might not otherwise have access. ADT’s programing is a byproduct of the needs identifying by the community itself, be it transportation, nutrition, or healthcare. For Wiesen and her team the words “Community” and Engagement are living and breathing ever evolving realities.
*Ruth Wiesen and Armour Dance Theatre were co-hosts for the MoBBallet Symposium MIA
6:30pm
Curriculum Designed to Create Cultural Awareness and Competence & Examining IDEA in Dance Competitions
Designing Curriculum to Create Cultural, Awareness and Equity This discussion looks at the effects of developing projects that intentionally decenter whiteness, and require students to interrogate not only their field of study, but where they as individuals fit into the structure based on their social identity. In the Fall of 2020, Janine Parker (Artist-in-Residence in Dance Williams College) and MoBBallet founder co-taught a hybrid dance course (Dance/ Course work) at Williams College. The course work focused on the history of ballet, using “traditional” readings and viewings but also MoBBallet.org as a resource tool. The students then chose Black ballet figures as research subjects. Their final projects became the Constellation Project. That same semester Annie Coogan, (Pratt University Associate Professor, Lecturer Interior Design) extended an invitation to MoBBallet to become the first ever client of Pratt School of Design Interiors 3rd year studio course. The assignment was to design a theoretical library for the organization. These two projects greatly impacted students, and educators alike on how they see and teach their forms.
Panelists: Janine Parker- Artist-in-Residence in Dance Williams College, Annie Coggan- Pratt Institute School of Design, Associate Professor Latoya Kamdang- Pratt University, Visiting Associate Professor Interior Design Moderator: Theresa Ruth Howard
7:30pm
Competitions and Diversity and Inclusion: Examining the “IDEA” of Dance Competitions
This conversation takes a deep dive into the way in which dance competitions have intrinsically altered the ballet landscape; from the way students are recruited, trained, recruited ultimately hired. They are the golden gateway to access and opportunity. As the ballet world begins to implement inclusion, diversity, equity, and anti-racism, the competition world is lagging behind. From the lack of black competitors, to all white adjudication panels our subject matter experts discuss the problems and and possible solutions of bringing the completion circuit up to speed
Panelists: Troy Brown- Independent ballet teacher and coach Margaret Tracey- Former director of the Boston Ballet School/ Prix de Lausanne jury president Shelly Power- Executive Director of Philadelphia Ballet/ Former Artistic Director of the Prix de Lausanne
10am
Kennedy Center Director, Dance Programming Jane Raleigh in Conversation with Reframing the Narrative Curator Theresa Ruth Howard
Reframing the Narrative, was a week-long celebration featuring performances on the Kennedy Center Opera House featuring three Black ballet companies Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ballethnic and Collage Dance Collective (curated by Denise Saunders Thompson/International Association of Blacks in Dance), as well as a choreographic residency curated by Theresa Ruth Howard. The 2 week Reframing the Narrative Residency commissioned world renown choreographer Donald Byrd to work with a group of 11 international group of Black-identifying ballet dancers. The result was From Other Suns. MoBBallet founder Theresa Ruth Howard is in conversation with Kennedy Center Dance Programming Director, and ally supreme Jane (Rabinovitz) Raleigh on how this historic program came to be.
11pm
Re-Grouping with some of the Reframing the Narrative cast lovefest and catch up!!!
Come be a fly on the wall as some of the members come together to debrief on their experience together, joined by Choreographer Donald Byrd and members of the Kennedy Center Staff.
Reframing the Narrative cast: Portia Adams- Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Precious Adams -English National Ballet, Katlyn Addison- Ballet West, Joshua Bodden-Kansas City Ballet, Corey Bourbonniere Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Jenelle Figgins- Freelance, Claudia Monja-Nashville Ballet, Ashley Murphy-Wilson-The Washington Ballet, Gian Carlo Perez- The Washington Ballet, Jonathan Philbert -Atlanta Ballet, Miranda Silveira- The Joffrey Ballet
Reframing Apprentice: Raquel Smith
12pm
Reflecting Upon: Reframing The Narrative- open town hall!