New Dance Group Presents VOICES FOR CHANGE Dance Festival

New Dance Group: Voices for Change, a virtual presentation of rare historic dances, will be offered by the American Dance Guild in four consecutive streaming programs over four weeks, Monday, January 31 through Sunday, Feb. 27. This historical gem will be available to stream on Vimeo and through the ADG website. The showings are free, with donations welcome.

The four-week program will feature works made by artists of the legendary New Dance Group Studio, as produced and recorded by the Guild at The New Dance Group Gala Retrospective Performance on July 11, 1993. New Dance Group was a modern dance collective, inspired by the political movements which seized Manhattan in the early 1930s. Viewers will discover the powerful social consciousness embodied in these uniquely expressive works, which ring as true today as when they were first performed. Educators are invited to share this important dance history in their curricula.

The full streaming lineup of 18 works is listed below; updates will be announced weekly through the duration of the virtual program. Each segment will run for one week only, from Monday 9 a.m. through Sunday midnight ET.

"The American Dance Guild continues to mine its exclusive archive of rare historical dances and are thrilled to share this unique portfolio of legendary work," said Gloria McLean, president of the Guild. "Our history was entwined with the New Dance Group through many of our earlier members like Muriel Manings, who spearheaded and produced this 1993 retrospective. I think people today will be inspired by the courage and engaged vision of these fearless artists," she said.

The New Dance Group: Voices for Change Online Film Festival Lineup:

Week 1: Jan 31 (Mon)- Feb 6 (Sun)
Songs, part III "To Each His Own" (1956) Mary Anthony
Tenant of the Street (1939) Eve Gentry
Blues (1962) Ronne Aul
Mourner's Bench, from "Southern Landscape" (1947) Talley Beatty

Week 2: Feb 7- Feb 13 (Mon-Sun)
The Desperate Heart (1943) Valerie Bettis
Lynchtown, from "Atavisms" (1936) Charles Weidman
The Negro Speaks of Rivers (1944) Pearl Primus
The Flight, from "The Pursued" (1947) Joseph Gifford

Week 3: Feb 14- Feb 20 (Mon-Sun)
Shuvi Nafshi, from "Return Oh My Soul Unto Thee" (1947) Hadassah
Time is Money (1934) Jane Dudley
Harmonica Break Down (1934) Jane Dudley
Sign Dance for Sarah (1979) Irving Burton
Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder (1959) Donald McKayle

Week 4: Feb 21 till Feb 27 (Mon-Sun)
The Transformations of Medusa (1942) Jean Erdman
Lyric Suite (1954) Anna Sokolow
Strange Hero (1948) Daniel Nagrin
Concerto in E (1979) Joyce Trisler
Folksay (1942) Sophie Maslow

To view the virtual collection on the above dates, please visit americandanceguild.org or vimeo.com/americandanceguild.

The American Dance Guild traditionally presents a yearly Performance Festival, a themed live event which features over 30 artists of diverse backgrounds, ages and aesthetics ranging from modern to post-modern, to performance art to cultural hybrids. Each year luminaries in dance are recognized with awards of Distinguished Artistry and Lifetime Achievement. In 2021, the ADG Performance Festival was virtual, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The live Festival hopes to return in November 2022.