Alabama Dance Festival

January 18, 2013 to January 27, 2013

The sixteenth annual Alabama Dance Festival takes place on January 18-15 as part of the 2013 50th Anniversary Commemoration advocating and celebrating civil rights for all people. Activities/locations include: Teacher Workshop, Jan 18, Children's Dance Foundation, 8:30 am-3:30 pm. Dance Across Birmingham, Jan 19, Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex - a day of free dance classes open to all ages from 9:00 am-4:30 pm in North Meeting Rooms. Free Birmingham Dance Showcase at 12:30pm, BJCC Theatre. Dance and Identity January 21, 12:00-2:00pm, Children's Dance Foundation Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion's community workshop that focuses on using dance as a platform for generating and exploring dialogue and movement dialogue about gender and sexuality. Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion (A.I.M.), "Boyz N The Hood" January 24-25, 10:00am, School Matinee Performances January 25, Inside the Dance, 7:35pm, Pre-performance talk with Dr. Thomas DeFrantz January 25, 8:00pm, Public Performance Post-performance discussion moderated by Dr. DeFrantz AL School of Fine Arts Doris Jemison Day Theater Description: Born into Hip Hop culture in the late 70's and raised with an artistic upbringing including classical cello, piano and the visual arts, Kyle Abraham approaches movement as a way to deeply delve into identity as it relates to personal history. He is interested in investigating the state of Black America and a history therein, as well as gender roles within the choreographer's community. Boyz N The Hood is a culturally-referenced, evening-length dance work that pairs W.E.B. Du Bois' classic essays Souls of Black Folk, John Singleton's film Boyz N The Hood, and Philippe Jaroussky's album Carestini: The Story of a Castrato, layered with an aggressive aural urban landscape. Set in Pittsburgh's historically black neighborhoods - Homewood and the Hill District - Boyz pays homage to the bold high-top fade era in hip hop while creating an emotional chronology of a culture conflicted with a history plagued by discrimination and genocide. Thomas F. DeFrantz, Performing Black January 26, 7:00 pm, ASFA Doris Jemison Day Theater Description: Thomas F. DeFrantz is a performer, writer, Professor of Dance and African American Studies at Duke University, President of the Society of Dance History Scholars, and director of SLIPPAGE: Performance, Culture, Technology. Performing Black is a performance lecture offering a performative journey through overlapping and divergent histories of black dance in the United States. Discussion includes Africanist aesthetics, exemplars of black performance avant-garde, black social dance, with special attention given to Africanist influence on European culture, an examination of black concert dance, black experimental performance, and black live art. New Works Concert January 26, 8:00 pm, ASFA Doris Jemison Day Theater Description: This performance will feature new works by regional choreographers selected through an adjudication process. Alabama Dance Festival Showcase January 27, 2:00 pm, ASFA Doris Jemison Day Theater This performance will feature dance companies and ensembles selected from participants across the Southeast. Master Classes for Dance Students and Professionals January 25-27, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Alabama Ballet, Birmingham-Southern College, Children's Dance Foundation On January 25-27, nationally renowned guest artists will provide a diverse curriculum of 60 master classes for dance students and professionals. On January 25, dancers will have the opportunity to audition for summer intensive programs, including American Ballet Theatre and Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Location and directions:
Birmingham

• http://www.alabamadancefestival.org