A Harlem Based Modern Dance Company
MADC presents Me < We: a solo dance concert
MODArts Dance Collective's (MADC) definition of Me < We is to encourage and nurture our independent unique selves through the principles of purpose and passion. How, through the rich examination of self we can ultimately grow closer, forming an unbreakable collective built on compassion and understanding.
The Cleansing
Choreographed & Performed by: Courtney Stewart
Music: Nao
Born and raised in Queens, NY, Courtney Stewart was the first female African American to graduate from the State University of Fredonia with her BFA in Dance. Her passion for dance evolved at Christian Cultural Center C3 dance ministry under the leadership of Teresa Slaughter. For ten years, she danced from Brooklyn, NY, to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and overseas to Singapore with C3 dance. Courtney was a member of the Asha Dance Company, Gotham Dance Theatre, as well as ModArts Dance Collective. She choreographed her first professional piece, “To Our Creators ...[GLS]” at the Kumble Theatre in 2017. Courtney is excited to continue her journey as a choreographer and her professional career in the arts. Courtney would like to thank her parents, family, friends, and Sam for their unconditional love and support.
The Cleansing is for anyone living with a hard decision that has affected their day-to-day life. It could be tolerating negative company, living with regret, or being ashamed of the choices they made. It’s time to move forward, cleanse, and heal.
Nina Remixed
Choreographed by: Leah Tubbs with the collaboration of Belleza Mitchell, Sharon Moreno, Toni Owens, Jessica Park, Ianne Fields Stewart, & Yasmin Venable
Performed by: Belleza Mitchell, Sharon Moreno, Toni Owens, Jessica Park, Ianne Fields Stewart, & Yasmin Venable
Music: Nina Simone
Recently graduated from Southern Methodist University, Belleza Mitchell has a BFA in Dance Performance and a BS in Applied Physiology and Health Management. In her time at SMU she performed major works by Carter Alexander, Martha Graham, Matthew Neenan, Zach Law Ingram, Brandi Coleman, Michele Gibson, and Kimberly Cooper. In the spring of 2021, Belleza founded Finding Compassion: a virtual choreography festival, with her business partner Shelby Green. Belleza now resides in New York, NY where she is performing as a company artist with MODArts Dance Collective.
Sharon Moreno is an artist born in Panama City. She began training in dance at 18 and quickly realized a passion for modern dance, teaching, and performance. Staying true to her roots, she also teaches multiple Afro and Latin American folkloric dance styles. She graduated from undergrad at the University of Panama and the National School of Dance in Panama in 2020. In 2021, she moved to New York City to study at the Martha Graham School. She has since performed at Lincoln Center's "Table of Silence," at Judson Church with Movement Research. And performs with the "Pajarito Pinta'o" company by Daniel Fetecua, Company Redacted, Fruto Ancestral company , Sur dance company, and now a Modarts Dance Company along with many more freelance performances ranging from theaters to festivals and parades. Sharon dedicates her life to sharing the skills she has been honored to learn by teaching in Latin America, where there is less access to specific techniques. She has taught in Chile, Panama and Colombia with plans to continue sharing affordable and accessible workshops through the educational project -Compartiendo por Latam- created and founded by Sharon Moreno.
Toni Owens (she/her) originally from West Palm Beach, FL began training at the age of 13 at Ballet East. She continued her training at A.W Dreyfoos School of the Arts and graduated in 2018. She then attended the Ailey School Certificate Program as a member of Ailey Student Performance Group and graduated in 2022. Toni is currently an artist with Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn and is joining her first season with MODArts Dance Collective.
Jessica Park, originally from Maryland, pursued her B.F.A. in Dance and Psychology as a double major at the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. Program. She earned her M.A. in Dance Education from Hunter College and is currently the Director of Ballet at Talent Unlimited High School. Mrs. Park has studied with world-renowned teachers and has performed works by Alvin Ailey, Jamar Roberts, Stefanie Batten Bland, Christopher Huggins, and Jae Man Joo amongst others. Professionally, she has performed with Mook Dance Company and Monica Bill Barnes & Company at venues across NYC. This is her first season with MADC.
Ianne Fields Stewart (they/she) is a multi-hyphenate creative working at the intersection of art, activism, and pleasure. Their work spans across many fields including: theatre, film, dance, creative writing, arts administration, and social justice. She is dedicated to creating art, facilitating spaces, and influencing organizational practices that allow Black queer and trans people to radically luxuriate in our own joy. To put it simply, she wants to make their people feel good. The NYC/Brooklyn Dance community has previously witnessed Ianne in SLM Dance’s Purple: A Ritual in Nine Spells and Nova Black’s another goddamn lesbian movie / a choreopoem.
Yasmin Venable is an artist from Harlem, NYC. Ms. Venable attended Talent Unlimited High School where she trained in various dance styles and learned choreographic techniques. Simultaneously while attending Talent Unlimited, Yasmin also trained at pre-professional programs at The School at Steps, Dance Theatre of Harlem and Manhattan Youth Ballet. After graduating highschool Ms. Venable attended The Ailey School for two years on scholarship. As a freelance performer she has had the pleasure of working with choreographers such as Earl Mosely, Kevin Iega Jeff, and Arthur Aviles. As well as danced with Rod Rodgers Dance Company, VashtiDance Theater and The DynamitExperience.
Nina Remixed is an ode of self-love through the gaze of a Black woman. It highlights what it means to fully embrace being in a Black body; honoring female sexuality; exploring what it means to be an agent of change within the community; unlearning habits to better show up for self & others; and investigating what it means to be free as a marginalized/oppressed community.
Me & You
Choreographed & Performed by: Leah Tubbs
Spoken Word: If I Was a Love Poet, Rudy Francisco
Music: PJ Morton & Jasmin Sullivan
Text Credit: Why do you love me?, Tonight's Conversation Couples Edition
Leah Tubbs (she, her, hers), a Birmingham, Alabama native & Harlem resident, studied dance at Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) and the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. She has performed with various dance companies in Alabama, Ohio, California, Texas, and New York. MODArts Dance Collective (MADC), established in 2011 by Leah and Shaun Tubbs, gives a voice to the underrepresented and often silenced communities of color to create more empathy and compassion in our world. The mission of MADC is to utilize movement as the catalyst to increase diversity and gender equality to audiences and communities nationwide.
Me & You, a new work in progress, celebrates Black love and what it means to build a lifetime with another person.
Q & A with all of the performing artists
Gratitude and Thanks
MADC would like to thank its 2023/24 donors: Charlotte Abbott, Dr. & Mrs. Amamoo, Sharon Banks, William-Michael Cooper, Sherema Fleming, Malaika Holder, Sheila Kennedy, Rev. & Mrs. Lee, Karen & Brian Lowy, Tanya Patton, Adriana Ray, Nathaniel Rutledge, Harriette Smiley, Cheryl Thomas, & Brittany Wilson. We are grateful to have received funding this season from IABD COHI | MOVE Collective Cohort (2021-24), 2023 West Harlem Development Corporation (WHDC), 2023 & 2024 Lower Manhattan Cultural Center (LMCC) Creative Engagement Grant, 2024 Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ) Arts Engagement Grant, 2022/23 The Performance Project @ University Settlement Artist-in-Residence, & the Cultural Development Fund Award from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. We are thankful to be receiving subsidized studio rates as a company-in-residence at Hi-ARTS. Thank you to our cultural partner, Go Hard Dance Studio, for sharing their space and for being an agent of change in Harlem through providing accessible dance training to budding artists ages 3 to adults.
Support
MODArts Dance Collective, Inc. (MADC) is always grateful to receive contributions to continue to expand and amplify the reach of holding space for BIPOC artists & communities through its choreographic work, festivals, concerts, residencies, & workshops. MADC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible; EIN: 87-2210130. Please consider contributing to MADC here.