SHOWING OUT: CONTEMPORARY BLACK CHOREOGRAPHERS
SHOWING OUT: CONTEMPORARY BLACK CHOREOGRAPHERS
MARCH 5 / 4PM + 7:30PM
MARCH 6 / 7:30PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
TICKETS $20 / $25 at the door / $18 Under 25 w/ ID / $17 MVP / $50 Patron
PHOTO NATE WATTERS
SHOWING OUT: Contemporary Black Choreographers is a follow up to the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas’ 2013 performance. This second production promises to be ingenious and inventive. Audience members will get the chance to experience new works by contemporary Black choreographers Alex Crozier, Jade Solomon Curtis, Randy Ford, Maxie Jamal and Dani Tirrell. Each choreographer will bring their unique perspective to the stage, in sharing their voices through movement. Expect the unexpected, and get ready to be truly inspired.
Co-presented by Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas + Velocity, with curation by Spectrum Dance Theater Artistic Director Donald Byrd.
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special events
SPEAKEASY SERIES: THE COLOR OF DANCE – HISTORY OF BLACK DANCE IN SEATTLE
SUN FEB 28 / 5-6:30PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all
Get a first hand account of Seattle Dance History. Learn about Seattle-born African-American dance luminaries. Engage with black dance artists currently working in Seattle today. Hear from Seattle Dance legends on whose shoulders we stand.
Hosted by Dani Tirrell with Melba Ayco / Tyrone Crosby (Koach T) / Alex Crozier / Jade Solomon Curtis / Edna Daigre / Makeda Ebube / Randy Ford / Maxie Jamal / Afua Kouyate
Kabby Michell / Vivian Phillips / Erricka Turner / Markeith Wiley
Plus, enjoy delicious food provided by Chef Kristi Brown (That Brown Girl Cooks) + desserts by Marlon Brown (Bessie’s Cakes)!
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about the artists
ALEX CROZIER, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, received his dance training from Wissahickon Dance Academy under the direction of Nancy Malmed. As a graduate of University of the Arts he received his BFA in Dance. Now in his fourth season with Spectrum Dance Theater, Alex performs various lead roles as a senior company member. His featured roles include the Interlocketer in Donald Byrd’s ‘The Minstrel Show Revisited’ and the Carnival Boy in the 5th Avenue Theatre’s production of ‘Carousel’. He has performed with Pennsylvania Ballet as a guest artist, the Houston Grand Opera, and with Liz King’s Cie D.ID in Austria where he toured extensively throughout the country. Alex has had the opportunity to present work at the Austrian dance festival Ötanzt, Central District Forum’s Showing Out, and Seattle Mens Chorus.
JADE SOLOMON CURTIS received her BFA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. Curtis has worked as a company member with Opus Dance Theatre, Alison Chase Performance, Wideman/Davis Dance and Spectrum Dance Theater. While a member of Spectrum Dance Theater, Curtis participated in a cross cultural initiative in Southeast Asia made possible by the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and Dance Motion USA. She has performed with the 5th Avenue Theater, Seattle International Dance Festival, Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas, Provincetown Dance Festival, Northwest African American Museum, Walla Walla Dance Festival, Velocity Fall Kick Off and Summerstage NYC. In 2014, she was the subject of an EMMY Award winning biographical film titled, Jade Solomon Curtis by Ralph Bevins of the Seattle Channel and is currently the Maxcy Inaugural Visiting Fellow at the University of South Carolina. Curtis is also an instructor and program coordinator. As the Program Coordinator and Donald Byrd Technique Instructor she led the Professional Division of the School at Spectrum, assisted Donald Byrd with classes and workshops, and taught as a master instructor at the Youth American Grand Prix.
RANDY FORD, a Seattle native, started pursuing dance as a career at the age of 17. With Hip Hop being his first love he studied Ballet, Modern, and Jazz at the University of Washington where he also choreographed the musicals “Legally Blonde: The Musical” and “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”. As an artist he works with improvisation, collaboration, pop culture research and uses dance as a form of activism and celebration. He also enjoys collaborating and dancing with other local artists. Randy is also a dancer/choreographer with Au Collective in Seattle.
MAXIE JAMAL’s career as a choreographer began at the age of 18 with a production of The Wiz at the Paramount Theater in Seattle. By age 23 she was living a bi-coastal lifestyle between Los Angeles and New York City, training and touring with A-list artists, choreographers and dancers. Maxie now is working to establish The Mystiquesterium Dance Company, which aims to create more performance platforms and opportunities as well as training for the next generation of dancers in the Pacific Northwest.
DANI TIRRELL is a Detroit raised dance/performing artist. Dani loves dancing House, Vogue and Whacking along with creating work for and about Black Queer and Trans people. As he explores each dance expression, he is more intrigued by why they exist and the history of protest that each dance was founded on. It is in the understanding of the why that you will only be able to authentically execute the how.
insights
>> WATCH The Color of Dance Speakeasy on our blog STANCE
SHOWING OUT is co-presented by CD Forum, Velocity, and Spectrum Dance Theater. Curated by Spectrum Dance Theater Artistic Director Donald Byrd.
