A Harlem Based Modern Dance Company
11.23.24 Move to Change Program
MODArts Dance Collective (MADC) presents Move to Change - a festival which uses dance as a form of social justice and arts activism through the lens of BIPOC choreographers and cinematographers. The goal of Move to Change is to create cultural and gender affirming spaces for artists of color: African, Latina/o/x, Asian, Arab, Native American (ALAANA); Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI); Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI); Black/African American, Caribbean, Indigenous, Middle East & North Africa (MENA); & South West Asia & North Africa (SWANA) to educate, empower, & illuminate issues that reflects their histories and cultures through their unique and rich movement aesthetics. This hybrid festival consists of live performance and dance films in two different programs over the two day festival. This year’s theme is the Swahili word 'Umoja' meaning Unity. The dance pieces/dance films will highlight the Kwanzaa meaning of Umoja: to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, and/or the world in which we live in. Please note that one of the dance works contain profane language.
Soulful Serenade
Artistic Director/Silk: Jarid Polite
Creative Director: Rodney Thomas Jr.
Dancer/ Silk: Nailah Renuka
Vocal Performance: Markus Moses Jackman
Director Of Photography/ Lead Editor: Braxton Wignall
Choreographer & Collaborators’ Pronouns: He/Him, He/Him, She/Her, He/Him, He/Him
Performed by: Jarid Polite and Nailah Renuka
Music: Lift Every Voice and Sing - J. Rosamond Johnson, and James Weldon Johnson
Organ: Willis Hickerson, Jr.
Post-Sound Engineer: KR Moore
Still Photography: Richard Reyes
Melanin Mosaic Performance Ensemble highlights the artistry, stories, and voices of the African diaspora and BIPOC communities by utilizing the marching and performance arts. Dedicated to pushing artistic boundaries and fostering social change, Melanin Mosaic creates compelling performance art interwoven with mental health advocacy. Their work spans global film festival showcases and live events, offering experiences that inspire and elevate marginalized voices. Through innovative collaborations, they remain a creative force dedicated to representation, healing, and empowerment.
IG: @melaninmosaicpe
FB: https://www.facebook.com/melaninmosaicpe/
Website: www.melaninmosaicpe.com
Description of Soulful Serenade
"Soulful Serenade” (Melanin’s Anthem)
Brought to life by Melanin Mosaic Performance Ensemble, Soulful Serenade (Melanin’s Anthem) blends the raw power of soul music with the intimate, reverent feel of a serenade for our ancestors.
Inspired by the anthem 'Lift Every Voice', the performance beautifully weaves together soulful singing, live instruments, dance, and the artistry of the marching arts. Under the direction of Jarid Polite, it invites audiences on a moving journey that stirs the soul, evoking connection to cultural pride and the deep spirit of the music. It’s an invitation to feel, remember, and celebrate together.
Phony Pony Ho!
Choreography & Performed by: Maggie Liang and Yinqi Wang
Choreographers’ Pronouns: She/Her, He/Him
Music: Udutha Udutha Huth by Ghantasala, Fujiken (Final Section) by Carl Stone, 美术鸡 by Zuoxiao Zuzhou
Yinqi Wang and Xiao Liang (Maggie) are choreographers and dancers from
China. They both received their Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from New York
University Shanghai, but it is their minor in dance that has led them to a life they truly wanted. In 2024 they received their Master of Fine Arts in Dance from
University of California-Irvine. Their choreography explores themes of myths,
folklore, violence and intimacy, by incorporating movement languages of
Gaga, Countertechnique, contact improv, as well as dramaturgical technologies.
Their works have been presented at various theaters and festivals across the United States.
IG: @wang_yinqi_dance and @xiao_liang_xiao
Website: https://omnivoredance.squarespace.com/
Description of Phony Pony Ho!
The duet Phony Pony Ho! begins with comedy and ends with comedy — yet along the way the audience is lured into a mysterious, absurd world that they don’t know if they should be stricken with fear or laughter. An uncontainable greed for joy leads us to tragedy; an ambition to love forever, an urge to die young.
The Portal
Choreographer & Performed by: Elise A. Logan
Cinematographer: Guy de Lancey
Sound Design/Poetry: Destiny Hemphill
Choreographer & Collaborators’ Pronouns: Elise (she/her) Guy (he/him) Destiny (she/her)
Music: The Portal by Destiny Hemphill
Choreographed, Directed, and Performed by Movement Lab Student Artist-in-Residence Elise A. Logan.
Elise A. Logan is a graduate of Barnard College, where she studied Dance and Interdisciplinary Race & Ethnicity Studies. She is a dancer, choreographer, writer, and community organizer passionate about interdisciplinary work related to dance, storytelling, research and digital methods.
Elise trained at the Ailey School following training at Alonzo King LINES Ballet.
At Barnard, she performed for Jennifer Archibald and Davalois Fearon at New York Live Arts and developed original work as a Movement Lab fellow and as a choreographic mentee of Sidra Bell.
Elise received scholarships to Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company’s Workshop and Ballet Hispánico's Choreolab and was selected by Sidra Bell to choreograph for Next Festival, a collaboration between choreographers and musicians.
IG: @elise__adele
Description of The Portal
In the spirit of Barnard alumna and originator of the “choreopoem,'' Ntozake Shange ('70), The Portal is a choreopoetic dance film that explores haunting and futurity as well as motherhood and kinship. Portals are not only glimpses into other worlds, or underworlds, in which one can experience altered time and memory, but portals can also unearth the truths and unsurfaced material which tend to implode, loom, and lurk from the past as one moves into the future, in the case of Black folks, for generations.
©Elise A. Logan
My Life Was Nervous
Choreography & Performed by: Morgan Gregory
Choreographer’s Pronouns: She/Her
Music: Interlude for Dropouts- CrysallMess, H.A.T.B.- Delroy Edwards and Cypher-Babyfather
Thank you to Mark Morris's SharedSpace program for the development of this work.
Description of My Life Was Nervous
Morgan Gregory, originally from Richmond, Virginia, is an interdisciplinary, Afro-diasporic performer, choreographer and storyteller. She is a graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA program and majored in Africana Studies and Dance with Magna Cum Laude honors. In her junior year, she was named the Denise Jefferson Memorial Scholar for her graduating class and a performance fellow with Sidra Bell. Morgan is currently collaborating with visual artist Julien Creuzet and choreographer Ana Pi on a continuing multi-disciplinary project exploring sound, shapes, and movements within the African diaspora. This work entitled, Algorithm Ocean True Blood Moves, premiered in New York City and has toured Amsterdam and Dakar. In her development of choreographic and performance work, Morgan, as an American Black woman, is constantly exploring ancestral importance and grief. In this continuous effort of understanding, Morgan finds herself creating in spaces of intersectionality: Academia, Womanhood, Desire, Blackness, Movement, and Spirituality.
gap in the heart
Choreographer: Tsubasa Nishioka
Choreographer’s Pronouns: He/Him
Performed by: Tsubasa Nishioka and Fuka Kojima/Feathers Dance Company
Music: "The last of us", "Unbound" and "Longing" by Gustavo Santaolalla
Tsubasa Nishioka was born in Japan.I studied classical ballet, modern dance, and contemporary dance in Japan, winning various awards at competitions. Tsubasa was accepted into The Ailey School program from 2017-19. He performed “Battlefield” choreographed by Robert Battle and Elisa Clark in Ailey Spirit Gala 2018 with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at Lincoln Center. Currently Tsubasa is a member of H.T. Chen & Dancers, i KADA Dance Company, AP Dance and Valerie Green Dance Entropy.
While channeling what I have cultivated into my works, I founded ‘Feathers Dance Company’.
IG: @tsubasa_nishioka, @feathersdancecompany
Description of gap in the heart
This work was created with a focus on the balance of light and shadow within the heart. Shadows emerge when there is a gap in the heart. Both light and shadow are parts of oneself. By reflecting not only on the bright aspects but also on the darker ones, I believe we can gain a new perspective, which is the concept behind this piece.
Together, Now
Choreographer: Nandini Kannan
Cinematographer: Ruben Samuel Cortez
Choreographer & Cinematographer Pronouns: She/Her and He/Him
Performed by: Anna Tan & Nandini Kannan
Music: Now by Miguel
Los Angeles native Nandini Kannan creates intentional pieces rooted in storytelling. Nandini has trained in Bharatanatyam, a South Indian art form, for the last 25 years through the Arpana Dance Company. Nandini cross-trains in Dancehall, Heels, Jazz Funk, Hip Hop, and Contemporary. She continues artistic development through holistic intensives. Nandini performs traditional and experimental works involving cross-art collaborations in a variety of venues. Nandini works on health equity initiatives. As both a public health advocate and versatile movement artist, Nandini is passionate about making movement, expression, and art an accessible way of living, healing, and being well for all communities.
IG/FB/YT: @nanderohni
Description of Together, Now
Health and wellness are a human right. The social context of our lives determines how we live, move, nourish, and heal in this world. Advancing health equity means to advocate for equitable access, tap into community resiliency, recognize our intersectionality, and cultivate more empathy and kindness. Communities of color are communities of care.
“We are the look of freedom. We are the sound of freedom.” Together, we are stronger. Together, now.
Mother, May I sleep with my demons?
Choreographer: Solenn Etienne
Choreographer’s Pronouns: She/Her
Performed by: Oxanna Etienne
Music: rumination - BAANDIT! + home - WILLOW, Jon Batiste + As Time's Flies - Ty's Music
Solenn Etienne was born in Guadeloupe, surrounded by her generous Caribbean culture, as a result, she inherited a profound, yet pure connection to nature and spirituality.
Attracted by the vibrating energy of New York City, she, then, joined the Ailey school in 2021 and graduated in May 2024.
Solenn learned repertory from Hofesh Shechter company, Martha Graham company, Cleo Parker Robinson Ensemble and worked with choreographers such as Juliano Nunes, Florian Lochner and Alice Klock, Ronald K. Brown and Norbert De La Cruz.
Solenn aspires to evolve and to assert herself in the modern dance world, by freeing her unique expression while transcending her physical limits.
Description of Mother, May I sleep with my demons?
« Mother, May I sleep with my demons? » relate the daughter’s journey, as she realizes the depth of traumas her mother may carry. Born under the feverish overprotection, only the shadow of adulthood could bring her to understand how much she is fated to carry. Only now can she truly fathom a black woman's purpose.
Dances With Ancestors (excerpt)
Choreographer: Stephen Hill
Choreographer’s Pronouns: He/Him/His
Performed by: Maria Falivene, Sara Giannini, Alaynia La Porte, Judea Lowe, & Jasmine Presti
Music: Ancestors - Leo Alarcon featuring Luna Del Flor
This work was made in part by the Dance Seed grant from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ) and the Mertz Gilmore Foundation.
Founded in 2014, the ChoreoJoey Project is celebrating 10 years as an arts collective from New York City committed to the preservation and use of jazz and West African dance in harmony with poetry and storytelling. Their ballets have been presented at dance festivals in Detroit, Miami and across the U.S.
Stephen Hill is the founding artistic director from Harlem. He earned a Dance B.A. from Lehman College and trained at Peridance, Cumbe, & Ailey. He’s previously danced for ModArts Dance Collective, Forces Of Nature Dance Theater, Sesame Carnival Flyers, and Earl Mosley Diversity of Dance.
IG: choreojoey_nyc
FB: facebook.com/choreojoey
Website: choreojoey.org
Description of Dances With Ancestors (excerpt)
"Dances with Ancestors" unfolds as a series of mesmerizing ceremonies, each one a testament to the power of tradition and the enduring bonds of community. In this excerpt, we examine the significance and countenance of a libation, and words as bonds to our lineage.
in silence is the offering presented
Director/Choreographer: Li Chiao-Ping
Cinematographer/Editor: Christal Wagner
Choreographer & Cinematographer’s Pronouns: She/Her
Performed by: Li Chiao-Ping and Jacob Li Dai-Loong Rosenberg
Music: "Lullaby" by Byron Au Yong
Sound design by Christal Wagner
This work was made possible through funds from the Virginia Horne Henry Fund and Vilas Trust administered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to watch”, Li Chiao-Ping is a multi-hyphenate artist, a 9-time NEA grant awardee and MAP Fund grant recipient, who creates layered works that combine multiple art forms to explore themes of culture and identity. Li Chiao-Ping earned her graduate degree from UCLA, was Director of the Hollins College Dance Program (1989-1993), and Chair of the UW-Madison Dance Department (2011-2014). Li’s work has been shown in major venues/festivals in the U.S. and abroad, including Jacob’s Pillow, Bates, ADF, Kennedy Center, Walker Art Center, Dance Place, Danspace Project, DTW, Theater Artaud, CounterPulse, and in Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, Argentina, and more.
IG: @lichiaoping @lcpdance
Byron Au Yong composes songs of dislocation, music for a changing world. His musical projects range from intimate chamber works to large-scale, site-specific installations. Highlights include Activist Songbook, Piano Concerto—Houston, and Stuck Elevator presented at venues such as the American Conservatory Theater, CounterCurrent Festival, Hawai'i Opera, International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Nashville Opera, and Virginia Tech Center for the Arts. Au Yong received a Creative Capital Award and Sundance Institute Time Warner Foundation Fellowship. He taught in Performing Arts & Social Justice at the University of San Francisco, and is currently an Associate Professor and Arts Leadership Director at Seattle University.
IG: @hearbyron
Jacob Li Dai-Loong Rosenberg (he /they) is a multiethnic artist from Madison, Wisconsin with roots in the Bay Area. They completed their undergraduate degree in Art Practice and Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. Li Rosenberg works across installation, printmaking, performance, wearables, photography, and video, among others. Their art practice is rarely medium-specific. Li Rosenberg’s work materializes through socially-engaged research with members of their family and community, focusing on topics of archives, culture, tradition, diaspora, collectivism, and labor. They concentrate on the intersections of their hyphenated-American identities, grounding their work in the uprooted histories of their Chinese and Jewish lineages.
IG: @jacoblirosenberg
Website: jacoblirosenberg.com
Christal Wagner is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (BFA) and serves as adjunct faculty in dance at UWM. She is a screendance artist, producing work as a cinematographer, performer, and director for Joe Goode, Danceworks Inc., Milwaukee Opera Theatre, UW-Milwaukee Dance, Saint Kate Arts Hotel, and Li Chiao-Ping Dance, where she was a 2020 SEED Creation Fund grant recipient. Christal is a Co-Artistic Director of Danceworks Performance MKE and a co-founder of the trio Cadance Collective. She has choreographed over 20 Milwaukee musicals and won eight Wisconsin Jerry Awards for musical theater.
IG: @waitingforutah
Description of in silence is the offering presented
This short screendance work borrows its title "in silence is the offering presented" from a quote attributed to Chinese philosopher Confucius, which is instructive of taking the path of peace over violence. Looking across the body of water, memories of homeland and feelings of displacement merge as the two main characters, mother and son, find themselves as refugees. Home, hope, dreams, safety, security, and love can be found in the silence. With choreography and direction by Li Chiao-Ping, cinematography, editing, and sound design by Christal Wagner, music by Byron Au Yong, and performance by Li Chiao-Ping and Jacob Li Dai-Loong Rosenberg, the evocative images in “in silence is the offering presented” reflect their experimental and collaborative approach to this expressive work.
Manduka Shabdam (excerpt)
Choreographer: Late Guru Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam
Choreographer’s Pronouns: He/Her
Performed by: Medha Srigiri
Music: Manduka Shabdam
Medha Srigiri, a St. Louis native and dedicated Kuchipudi artist, trained extensively with renowned teachers in the U.S. and India, building her foundation at the Kuchipudi Art Academy of St. Louis and continuing her advanced studies in Hyderabad. With over 15 years of professional experience, Medha performs solo and in collaborative works, aspiring to connect global audiences with the essence of Kuchipudi through storytelling and cultural exchange. She is dedicated to making Kuchipudi accessible and engaging for diverse audiences worldwide through performances, workshops, and educational programs.
IG: @MedhaSrigiri
Description of Manduka Shabdam (excerpt)
In Kuchipudi, Shabdams are hymns of praise dedicated to Gods, rulers, and/or patrons of the arts. Manduka Shabdam, meaning the 'sound of frogs,' is a piece that praises the Hindu god, Lord Vishnu, within the context of the Gajendra Moksham narrative.
These frogs, or mandukas, are portrayed as chanting the virtues of Lord Vishnu, who liberated the Elephant King, Gajendra, from the clutches of an evil crocodile and relieved him from the curse inflicted by Sage Durvasa, transforming him into an elephant.
A king forsakes his kingdom to seek solitude in the forest for meditation. Encountering Sage Durvasa, the king's failure to acknowledge him enrages the sage, who consequently curses the king, transforming him into an elephant, Gajendra. As Gajendra frolics in the forest waters, he falls prey to an evil crocodile and seeks help from the Lords. Lord Vishnu, amidst his private chambers with Goddess Lakshmi, hears this cry for help and descends to earth to slay the crocodile, known as 'Makara', with his Chakra.
The uniqueness of this Shabdam lies in its bhols, or syllables, incorporated into intermittent jatis to emulate the croaking of frogs, hence its title, Manduka Shabdam. Choreographed by Guru Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam, Manduka Shabdam is set to Mishra Chaapu Taalam and sung in Raaga Malika.
This piece, Manduka Shabdham, reflects 'Umoja' (Unity) by illustrating how diverse beings, like frogs, come together through the shared act of storytelling. Their recounting of Gajendra Moksha symbolizes that unity can emerge even among the smallest creatures, emphasizing the collective power of devotion and the universality of spiritual connection.
Circles, Section 1
Choreography: Leah Tubbs (ensemble work); Solenn Etienne, Quetzali Hart, Mireille Lorenzo, & Lauren Mueller (their own solo work)
Choreographer’s Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Performed by: Solenn Etienne, Quetzali Hart, Mireille Lorenzo, & Lauren Mueller
Music: Circlesongs 6 by Bobby McFerrin
Birmingham, AL native & Harlem resident Leah Tubbs studied dance at Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) and the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. She has had the great opportunity to work as a professional artist with numerous dance companies, teaching artist, and arts educator. Leah and Shaun established MODArts Dance Collective in 2011 to hold space for BIPOC artists and communities through its choreographic work, festivals, concerts, workshops, and residencies.
Description of Circles, Section 1
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” African Proverb
Circles, Section 1 explores and investigates the following questions: 1. What communities am I a part of?; and 2. What is/are the common goal(s) within the community? as individuals and as an ensemble to find the connectivity between each other.
Gratitude and Thanks
MADC would like to thank our 2024/25 donors: Sharon Banks, Lauren DeGeorge, Sherema Fleming, Karen & Brian Lowy, Tanya Patton, Adriana Ray, & Harriette Smiley. MADC is grateful to be receiving funding this season from the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD) COHI | MOVE Gamma Collective Cohort with the Mellon Foundation (2024-26), West Harlem Development Corporation (WHDC), and the New York State Council on the Arts.
Support
MODArts Dance Collective (MADC) is a Harlem based nonprofit multicultural professional dance company where artists of color strive to show up as their authentic selves inside & out of the studio; cultivates platforms for BIPOC dancers, choreographers, & cinematographers to share their lived experiences to assist in amplifying their reach & impact; and provides safe, open spaces for Black & Brown communities to heal, grow, & thrive. Please consider making a contribution to MODArts Dance Collective (MADC) to increase our reach and impact towards West Harlem residents; continuing to provide accessible live professional dance in Upper Manhattan; and offer K-12 Harlem students the opportunity to see performances in their neighborhood that reflects their histories & cultures. Any help is always greatly appreciated. MODArts Dance Collective is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible; EIN: 87-2210130. Please consider contributing to MADC here.