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New Collective Dance Rising presents "NYC - A Hyper-Local Dance Out" on Thursday, October 1 and Saturday, October 3
The Dance Rising Collective, a new collective of artists and administrators created in partnership with Kinesis Project dance theatre, The Field as fiscal sponsor, and advised by Lucy Sexton of New Yorkers for Culture & Arts, presents Dance Rising: NYC, a hyper-local dance out across all five boroughs on October 1 and 3 from 5:00-5:30pm. NYC professional dancers will take to the parks, windows, streets, and rooftops to dance, focusing public attention on an industry that remains largely on pause due to COVID. Everybody identifying as a professional dancer, choreographer or teacher is invited to take part.
Melissa Riker, director of Kinesis Project dance theatre and Jill Sigman of ThinkDance, have said "After months of social isolation, economic shutdown, and pause for our industry, professional dancers are rising up. We practice a myriad of dance styles, and are of many races, gender identities, mixed abilities, and body types. We are dancing to be seen, considered, and spark crucial conversations about the future of dance in NYC."
Dance Rising: NYC is an interconnected series of actions affirming the importance of professional dance in all of its forms, making dance visible in a re-opening landscape, and engaging with community stakeholders about partnership and possibility. Later this fall, large scale videos of the dances filmed on October 1 & 3 will be projected in public spaces throughout the city. More on this phase of the project is forthcoming.
Maura Nguyen Donohue, writer, performer, curator and CUNY Hunter Professor added "There is no shutting down dance. After months of social isolation, the effort to put New York City "on pause" cannot keep dancers from rising, and falling, and rolling and turning and holding in the gentlest stillness. We dance in the wake and the waves of multiple pandemics, and in doing so insist that our dancing communities must be supported. Behold, hold up and help us hold onto the rich diaspora that is New York City when it is dancing."
Lucy Sexton, who leads the cultural advocacy coalition New Yorkers for Culture & Arts notes, "The city's arts and culture are not only its economic engine, they are its heart and soul. New Yorkers are thirsting for dance, music, theater, and culture of all kinds, and we are thrilled that Dance Rising will be enlivening spaces in every corner of our city."
WHY
This is our life's work: NYC is the dance capital of our nation. Over 5,000 dance professionals of all sorts-performers, educators, choreographers, improvisers, studio owners, and theater employees-- engage in live, body-based, dance practices that often involve physical contact and group gatherings. This is our life's work and our economic livelihood.
Dance is an important part of life and culture: We are vital to our communities' wellbeing. We offer ways to express joy and pain, process current events, and build intergenerational connections through the arts. In 2016, the dance industry accounted for $302,000,000 of revenue into NYC.
The dance ecology is fragile: The economic impact of the pandemic on the dance industry has been devastating. Most dance professionals lost all or a majority of their work when theaters, studios, and even outdoor festivals shut down in March. As of August 2020, an estimated 90% of the dance industry is still out of work.
It's time to figure this out: It's time for dance professionals to be seen in their communities, re-connect with their neighbors, and begin important conversations about how dance and dancers will survive in a post-pandemic reality.
GET INVOLVED NOW
For DANCERS: Sign up + Dance
Are you a dancer, choreographer, or other dance professional in any dance form? Sign up. Get the score. Grab a friend to film you and dance indoors or outdoors on October 1 and/or October 3. Spread the word to your colleagues: https://bit.ly/SignUpDanceRising
For ORGANIZATIONS + STUDIOS: Mobilize Participants
Help the Dance Rising Team multiply participants in all dance forms to get the NYC dance industry out on the streets on October 1 and October 3. Help amplify the event with your own promotion. Our goal is to activate at least 500 dancers. The organization toolkit can be found here: https://bit.ly/DROutreachToolkit
