Urbanity Dance Announces Programming Updates For Tenth Anniversary Season

Urbanity Dance-dedicated to inspiring, engaging and empowering the Boston community with the art of dance and movement through its three pillars of Company, School and Community-is celebrating its tenth anniversary season beginning this fall.

Founded by Director Betsi Graves, Urbanity has grown tremendously over the past decade, starting out with one dance studio and eight students to now having four operational studios in three different locations, serving over 800 students ranging from toddlers to adults. On an annual basis, the organization now reaches approximately 10,000 individuals through its impactful programs and collaborations with other Boston area cultural organizations, which include serving as the official Dance School of the Boston Children's Museum; in addition to collaborations with many schools and community partners.

Amidst the challenges of the past several months, Urbanity has continued to innovate, pivoting towards online classes and the creation of new fall programming for its youth and adult classes, consisting of limited in-person classes, streamed classes, and digital classes specifically developed for online dance education. Urbanity launched its fall season of classes on September 14th for students ages 10 months to 18 years. Classes are offered in the disciplines of contemporary, hip hop, ballet, jazz, and modern.

Urbanity is also offering streamed and digital classes, plus small in-person classes in ten-week sessions for adult students, ages 19 and over, beginning on September 20th. Classes are offered in hip hop, contemporary, ballet, and heels.

Urbanity's work in the community will also continue with its impactful Dance with Parkinson's program, offered on a weekly basis digitally this fall. The free class, offered since 2012, keeps individuals with Parkinson's Disease moving in a fun, welcoming and safe environment with instructors guiding participants through exercises designed to enhance and maintain mobility, flexibility, balance, posture, coordination and strength.

In addition to its educational programming, Urbanity Dance will still offer a variety of artistic programming for its tenth anniversary season.

Urbanity Dance's Fall Crawl, originally scheduled to take place September 24 to 26, will now take place in July 2021, allowing more audience members to participate in this company tradition. Titled Hyper Linked, the immersive dance performance event will explore the creative currents that facilitate human connection, while challenging the way humans tread through fear and isolation to find empathy and connection. The crawl will take audiences in small groups on a personalized journey through the South End of Boston, and feature Urbanity Dance's Professional Company in a wide range of collaborations.

In addition to Hyper Linked, Urbanity Dance's tenth anniversary season also includes Gather, the Professional Company's Showcase, on May 21 and 22, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. and May 23, 2021 at 2:30 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, featuring works by Teddy Forance (appearances on the Oscars, Emmy's, and Dancing With The Stars, and founder of CLI Studios), FLOCK, Nailah Randall-Bellinger (dance professor at Harvard University, Dean College), and Boston-based artists Meghan Anderson and Key'aira Lockett.

New this season is Urbanity's residency program, Urbanity X, which will offer ten residences curated by ten dance legends, including Adriene Hawkins, Peter DiMuro, and Lia Cirio. The residences will pair ten choreographers with ten sound artists, resulting in intimate monthly performances at Urbanity's Central location (725 Harrison Street) from January to August 2021. Urbanity X will serve as an incubator for talented local artists and new voices, providing mentorship, dedicated rehearsal space, fair pay, access to performance space and technical support, with the goal of creating career-launching opportunities for Boston-area artists. An expression of interest form for sound and dance makers is currently available here until November 1st.

"As we celebrate our tenth anniversary season, we are excited to present an array of dance experiences and educational offerings that reflect Urbanity's past achievements and demonstrate its future vision," said Director Betsi Graves. "Urbanity's driving force over the past decade has been rooted in collaborations within the community, and now more than ever, it is the time to leverage our resources so we can build greater connections together through the arts. As we welcome many of our youngest students back into the studio and on our screens in the coming days, we continue to look towards the future of Urbanity and our next decade of engaging our community through dance!"

2020-21 Programming Information

Urbanity X:10
Monthly performances beginning January 2021

Urbanity Central
725 Harrison Street
Boston, MA 02118

Gather
May 21 and 22, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.
May 23, 2021 at 2:30 p.m.

Multicultural Arts Center
41 Second Street
East Cambridge, MA 02141

Featuring the Professional Company

Summer Crawl
July 2021

Locations throughout the South End

Featuring members of the Professional Company and Creative Class

About Urbanity Dance
Urbanity Dance was founded as a non-profit arts organization in 2011 by Director Betsi Graves with the mission to engage, inspire, and empower individuals and communities through the art of dance and movement. This mission is manifested through Urbanity's organizational pillars of Company, School, and Community, which strive to achieve three objectives: to propel contemporary dance to the forefront of Boston's cultural landscape; fill an unmet demand for access to training in diverse dance forms; and use dance as a tool for fostering bodily autonomy and creativity in local schools and community spaces. Through its three South End studios and work in the community, Urbanity is proud to provide high-quality dance experiences to over 10,000 dance-lovers of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities every year.

Urbanity Dance's Professional Company, founded in 2008 by Director Betsi Graves, offers audiences a challenging, entertaining, and visionary experience. The Company's hyper-athletic aesthetic is a true fusion, aiming to bridge the gap between concert and commercial dance. Known for its effortless curves and use of breath, Urbanity's Professional Company places a strong emphasis on the foundations of modern, jazz, and ballet, while also utilizing the highly detailed gesture work and hard-hitting articulation usually associated with hip-hop. Originally an all-female company, Urbanity added men to its ranks for the first time in 2014. The Company was voted Boston's Best by a??Improper Bostonian in 2013, announced Best of Boston by a??Boston Magazine a??in 2015, was recently shortlisted for Bostinno's 50 on Fire, and was named a Top Ten Critics' Pick by a??The Boston Globe. Urbanity has presented at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, The Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater, The Institute of Contemporary Art, and venues across New England, New York, Virginia, Texas, and Florida.

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