Showing posts with label Middle East. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Middle East. Show all posts

Jul 23, 2012

DanceMotion USA 2012 by the Numbers

4 companies
41 artists

14 countries
18 U.S. embassies & consulates
33 cities
85 days
36 performances
118 exchange & education activities
460 books & DVDs distributed to 20 libraries
12,000+ web site visitors
23,156 audience members & participants
1,000,000+ media impressions


From March through June of 2012, four American dance companies embarked on journeys across the globe. As part of the second installment of DanceMotion USAsm, dancers from Los Angeles’ Jazz Tap Ensemble, Philadelphia’s Rennie Harris Puremovement, New York City’s Seán Curran Company and Boise, Idaho’s Trey McIntyre Project set out as artist diplomats – to share and exchange their work as American dancers with artists, students, and audiences from cultures and backgrounds entirely different from their own.

The power of these dancers’ travels has been seen in the stories told in this blog - through photos, videos, and anecdotes of their time abroad. As the program continues, the reports speak volumes about dance’s incredible ability to connect people across cultures, borders, and boundaries. These numbers only touch the surface in describing the connections made with audience members, workshop participants, fellow artists, and students – and the stories born from those experiences.

(c US Embassy Ashgabat)
Seán Curran Company after a workshop in Turkmenistan

 
Jazz Tap Ensemble with new friends in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

 
 Rennie Harris Puremovement after a workshop at the
Rabbea Murkus Dance Studio in Kfar Yassif, Israel

 
 Trey McIntyre Project studying Tai Chi in Guangzhou, China


DanceMotion USA would like to thank everyone involved in its second year of tours for their fearless dedication to connecting Americans to the rest of the world through dance. Because of your work, the world is shrinking geographically and expanding creatively, growing in its capacities for global collaboration, innovation, and peace-building.

Stay tuned for more details and information on the DanceMotion USA program over the next week!


Apr 9, 2012

Our Ethiopian Brothers and Sisters

April 3rd, 2012 - We finally got to work with our young Ethiopian brothers and sisters!

Teaching in Kfar Yassif, Israel


April 1st, 2012 - Mel & Crystal  teaching at Rabbea Murkus Dance Studio in Kfar Yassif, Israel. We all had a great time teaching & watching everyone in the cipher at the end of class!

Mar 28, 2012

Hip Hop Camp at the Zafer Al-Masri Foundation

Rennie Harris and the company with participants in the “hip hop camp” at the Zafer Al-Masri Foundation, Nablus, West Bank. The participants included 60 Palestinian dancers  from Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza. The RHPM “hip hop camp” took place from Tuesday, 2O March until Saturday, 24 March.


Mar 21, 2012

Photos from Ramallah








“American Day” at Ben Gurion University in Beersheba

“American Day” at Ben Gurion University in Beersheba
In what i imagine to be the University Commons, the company performed on a vinyl floor (not Marley & over marble) surrounded by: American flag banners and bunting; red, white, and blue balloons; a popcorn machine (obviously); a cardboard cutout of Obama; and a collage of photos. the photos representing America are:
- Michael Phelps- a black trumpet player- a bond cheerleader- drum line of a marching band- a female native american- monument valley- astronaut in space- a Louisiana swamp- a hispanic scientist- an asian scientist- 2 white scientists- a black man cooking at a grill- cowboys- the St Louis Arch- a group of modern dancers presumably from Philly (including Jaamil Kosoko)- and a photo of a Duke Carolina basketball game (at Carolina)


“American Day” at Ben Gurion University in Beersheba

In what we imagined to be the University Commons, the company performed on a vinyl floor surrounded by American flag banners and red, white, and blue balloons.

Video: Last Workshop in Cairo

This was our last workshop in Cairo, Egypt at Fibers gym. Thank you all who came out to build and hang out with us. We will miss you you all dearly. One love!

RHPM workshop in Alexandria

RHPM workshop in Alexandria at the Tamarin Dance Studio. Joel “TEKNYC” Martinez teaches a breaking class. SUPER great workshop, SUPER great participants, SUPER great energy!








Video: RHPM and Local Dancers

RHPM and local dancers jam in a Cairo athletic club’s dance studio. This is the magic!

Lunch!

Lunch! i forget how you say it - “everything mixed up” is basically the name. pasta, noodles, beans, chili, lentils, chick peas. then you pour garlic oil and hot chili sauce on it. super cheap, super good, and SUPER filling.

Lunch! Pasta, noodles, beans, chili, lentils, chick peas. then you pour garlic oil and hot chili sauce on it. super cheap, super good, and SUPER filling.

“Sawy Culture Wheel”






              
The “Sawy Culture Wheel” is a music/performance venue under the bridge that goes over Zamalek, the island where we stayed in Cairo. An architect cleaned out this area under the bridge and built the venue to serve the active youth culture. RHPM and some local dancers performed together here on the Wednesday night we got back from Alexandria.

Dec 15, 2010

2012 Companies and Countries Announced

The four US companies participating in this season’s DanceMotion USA are:

Jazz Tap Ensemble, based in Los Angeles, California, will tour in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo

Rennie Harris PureMovement, a hip-hop dance company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will tour in Egypt, Israel, and the Palestinian Territories

Seán Curran Company, a contemporary dance company based in New York, New York, will tour in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, and Turkmenistan

Trey McIntyre Project, a contemporary dance troupe based in Boise, Idaho, will tour in China, South Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam