LIBERTE’: EXPLORATIONS OF BLACKNESS AND DANCE

Liberte’, a 6 day virtual dance event will explore the intersections of Blackness and Dance as a means of liberation. The event will include 5, two hour workshops lead by Black Artist/Dancers from Duke University’s Inaugural MFA in Dance cohort alongside a virtual performance featuring the artists. Through movement and conversation, we delve into a diverse discourse of blackness through dance. Presented by Ife Michelle Dance in partnership with the Race and the Professions Fellowship at the Kenan Institute for Ethics.

July 26th-30th | 5pm-7pm
Liberte’ Live: Virtual Artist Perfomance | July 31st | 6pm

—–Free, Click here to register—–

Day 1: IFE MICHELLE

SASSY HIP-HOP

Ife’s artistic work is centered around facilitating and curating “EmancipatedSpaces” where artists, particularly Black Women, can train, create, access artistic and economic opportunity, and allow witness of their with empathy and care. In doing so, artists/movers are able to engage themselves as knowledgeable movers with autonomy of their vast existence and ways of being.
www.ifemichelledance.com
IG: @ifemichelledance

Day 2: AYAN FELIX-DOYLE

PLEASE DON’T STOP THE MUSIC (CONTEMPORARY MODERN AND CLUB DANCE)

“Please Don’t Stop the Music” invites various kinds of movers to experiment with how stories move through us. Ayan sculpts the workshop to think about how we can move in community,centering the House beat and our own movement. The workshop aims to center and uplift Black queer experiences which have gifted us so much Culture. It will consist of sweat, journalling, footwork, momentum, and improvisational scores. If you have experience with floor work, house dance, and modern dance, the movement portions of this workshop will feel familiar.
IG: @strictfullness
FB: Ayan Felix

Day 3: NAMAJALA NAOMI

AFRO-CUBAN FOLKLORE

Namajala Naomi’s artistic work grounds the dancer/mover in the abundance of their unique experiences and bodily knowledge as a way to connect to and apply the medicines of Afro-Cuban dance forms. Dancer/movers engage the historical, cultural and spiritual practices from which Afro-Cuban folkloric dance forms were born and continuously develop.

Day 4: ALYAH BAKER

BALLET

In her work, Alyah reimagines Ballet and the dance class as a radically inclusive and supportive environment for a diverse range of movers. Centering Black, POC, queer, trans/GNC, older, and bigger-bodied dancers, Alyah invites participants to embody joy and pleasure as they cultivate inner and outer strength and grace. Together they create an affirming environment where participants are empowered to explore their unique capacity for movement and artistry.
BalletforBlackandBrownBodies.com
@blackandbrownballet

Day 5: JULIET IRVING

ALIGNING MUSCLES AND STRETCHING BONES

Juliet’s work focuses on developing internal bodily awareness by using everyday postures and movements to investigate unique connections within the body on miniscule levels. Movers of all backgrounds and experience are invited to engage with their surroundings and their bodies in new ways.

julietirving.com
@julietednairving
@julixtgraphix