We’re finally going to Cuba!
From February 5-16, 2016, we’ll be engaged in two weeks of cultural exchange, collaborating with the Rosario Cárdenas Dance Company and Cuban dancers and musicians on a new site-specific performance in Old Havana.
We’ll also be teaching free workshops open to the public, and offering a free concert of our choreography and of our stellar PWDT dance artists Tzveta Kassabova, Lindsay Gilmour, Graham Brown, and apprentice Jonathan Hsu.
We first met Rosario (who was recently awarded the National Dance Award of Cuba) over twenty years ago when our companies were performing at an international festival in Mexico. She invited us to Cuba at that time, and we are finally able, with your help, to say yes!
We have already raised $7,000 for this tour, and now need your participation in raising $10,000 more to support our artists’ salaries and touring expenses.
As you might know, there is almost no funding available from the US at this time for arts residencies in Cuba, and while our Cuban hosts are offering their beautiful studios, performance spaces, translators, and administrative expertise while we are in Havana, there is no possibility of them paying us any travel/per diem expenses or fee.
Please help us with this project! Your belief in us throughout all these years has been vital to our work and to our ability to connect with audiences, students and professional artists throughout the world.
What’s been happening since our last Kickstarter:
1. Governors Island – New York City
Our new site-specific dance “A Curious Invasion/Governor’s Island” celebrated the inauguration of the Hammock Grove at Governors Island in New York harbor. With live music composed and performed by David Schulman, the project was funded by a generous grant from the Leon Lowenstein Foundation.
2. OpenLook International Festival – St. Petersburg, Russia
We created a new site specific dance in the lobby of the famous Alexandrinsky Theater’s new building, incorporated a cast of a dozen Russian dancers in sold out performances of “Ordinary Festivals”, as well as presenting new works by our company’s dance artists on the festival’s opening concert.
3. Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center – College Park, MD
We opened the Clarice’s new annual NextNow Fest with a site performance on the steps of the Grand Pavilion with live music by David Schulman in September 2014, and Sara performed her solo from “The Return of Lot’s Wife” in this year’s festival. This past month, we presented the premieres of “rapture” as well as Patrik’s new solo “…and still doing…” on the annual School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies’ faculty dance concert.
4. Dance Place Opening Gala – Washington, DC
Ordinary Festivals helped celebrate the grand opening of the newly renovated Dance Place in Washington, DC.
5. Tom Caravaglia Memorial Celebration – New York City
A dear friend and much beloved NYC dance photographer, it was an honor to perform at his memorial celebration in the Paul Taylor Studios.
6. From the Horse’s Mouth – New York City
Performances at NYU/Tisch honoring Phyllis Lamhut, and at the Abrons Arts Center honoring Murray Louis What a joy to help celebrate our visionary mentors with an evening of monologues and dances!
7. Dance Place – Washington, DC
We premiered our work in progress of rapture as well as Sara’s new solo “Guete Flug”.
8. American Dance Institute (ADI) – Rockville, MD
We were invited to perform two new solo works in progress for the Dance and Dessert series at the invitation of curator Christopher K. Morgan.
9. DanceNOW 20th Anniversary Season, Joe/s Pub – New York City
Sara performed her solo from “The Return of Lot’s Wife”.