BLACK DANCE STORIES Returns With A Special New Episode This Week

Black Dance Stories continues its mission to champion the Black dance community by announcing a special new episode streaming live on YouTube on Thu, Nov 18 at 6pm EST and the launch of its new digital platform the Young Professionals' Experience Journal.

On Thu, Nov 18 the popular dance series welcomes Maleek Washington and Tamisha Guy. Washington most recently worked as assistant choreographer to Camille A. Brown at the Metropolitan Opera for her directorial debut for Fire Shut Up in My Bones and Guy is a dancer with A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham. The special edition of Black Dance Stories is timed to coincide with the 2021 EVOLVE | new york IABD Dance Summit.

Presented in partnership with The International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD) and STEPS on Broadway, EVOLVE | new york is a three-day hybrid regional dance summit open and designed for dance practitioners, students, professionals, studio owners, and more, to share their love for dance and expand their technical proficiency and knowledge of the art form through a weekend of dance classes and a symposia Fri, Nov 19 to Sun, Nov 21, 2021. In-person dance classes are $25, virtual classes are $17, and the symposia is free. For more information and to register, visit iabdassociation.org. The special episode "Black Dance Stories: EVOLVE | an IABD Dance Summit" streams live on Thu, Nov 18 at 6pm EDT on YouTube.

The Black Dance Stories community also recently launched the Young Professionals' Experience Journal, a new digital platform showcasing the work of emerging and professional Black artists between the ages of 21-35. The YPE Journal provides a space for artists' unique experiences to be held, shared, and archived. Artists are encouraged to submit work at BlackDanceStories.org.

And the monthly afternoon series, Power Half-Hour, continues with Cortney Taylor Key (Nov 29) and Dre Drummond (Dec 27). Each month, viewers are invited to join the engaging conversation as artists share their experience as performers, choreographers, and art administrators doing the work in our dance communities. The series continues Black Dance Stories's commitment to supporting Black creatives. Power Half Hour streams live at 12 pm EST via Instagram Live the last Monday of the month through December 2021. Episodes will be available, with closed captioning viewable from @blackdancestories Instagram TV (IGTV) after the live show. Both initiatives are a part of BDSs The Young Professionals Experience focusing on emerging Black artists who are impacting the dance field. Black Dance Stories' very own emerging creatives Makeda Smith (Director of Digital Media) and Makeda Roney (Director of Production), conceived and produced the new series and initiative.

For more information, visit Black Dance Stories website blackdancestories.org. Click here to donate to Black Dance Stories and to receive updates regarding future live streams and episodes.