Gibney Announces Fall 2020 Season with Launch of New Online Initiatives

As an organization that uses movement, creativity, and performance to effect social change and personal transformation, Gibney is launching a fall season of digitally adapted programming designed to help establish a stronger foundation for the future of contemporary dance as the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic are felt across the world. Framed by the theme "Deeper," three new initiatives will emphasize listening and discussion, providing new platforms for contemporary voices and creating connections between disparate communities within the dance field. The season also brings back popular programs and events that engage artists and performers, foster community, and support dancers at all stages of their careers.

The new initiatives include Imagining: A Gibney Journal, a bimonthly digital publication featuring writing from the dance and performance community; the Deeper Lecture Series, a talk and Q&A program highlighting the most provocative, influential, and inspiring minds at work in the arts, humanities, and activism; and Black Diaspora, a pilot program directly addressing the needs of emerging Black-identifying artists. Returning this fall are programs that Gibney has adapted to digital formats, including Living Gallery, which will present live performances of storytelling, monologues, spoken word, stand-up, or creative talks; Long Table conversations, which will shift to a new online format called Art + Action Talks; and Sorry I Missed Your Show, which invites artists to participate in screenings and discussions of their recent dance performances.

The fall programs are curated by Eva Yaa Asantewaa, who was recently named Senior Director of Artist Development and Curation, as well as Editorial Director, at Gibney; and are supported and realized by Sarah A.O. Rosner, Producer; Dani Cole, Curatorial Associate and Artist Coordinator, Editorial Associate; and Beaudau Banks, Producing Assistant.

"My hope is that "Deeper," the theme I originally chose for this season last spring, takes on new meaning and urgency now as we seek to dig deeper into our history, clean our historical wounds, and step out into a world that works better because we worked hard to make it better," said Ms. Yaa Asantewaa.

"I am grateful for the extraordinary work Eva and her team are doing to create programming that is supportive and responsive," said Gina Gibney, Founder, CEO, and Artistic Director of Gibney. "As an organization, we are committed to helping the dance community recover, and we will be using our resources and expertise to help rebuild a more robust future for contemporary dance in New York, and beyond."

Program Details

Black Diaspora

This September, Gibney will launch Black Diaspora, a pilot program conceived by Ms. Yaa Asantewaa to directly address the needs of emerging Black-identifying artists from a variety of cultural backgrounds and dance and performance techniques and traditions. An initial cohort of 20 artists working in two groups over the course of nine months will gather by Zoom for monthly conversations, occasionally joined by guest artists from the fields of dance and performance, including Ayodele Casel, J. Bouey, Jerron Herman, Kayla Hamilton, Ni'Ja Whitson, Raja Feather Kelly, and Rokafella and Kwikstep.

"My hope is that Black Diaspora's first year in virtual space will evolve to include additional features that can be gradually introduced when we are able to safely meet in person," said Ms. Yaa Asantewaa. "In coming years, we want to develop a full-fledged residency including informal public showings, a mentorship program, connections to Black workers in allied disciplines, collaborative projects with other organizations, and training and support for arts writers. I want these artists to be able to look around at one another and affirm that there's nothing we can't do when we stand together."

Imagining: A Gibney Journal

Soon to be available on Gibney's website, Imagining: A Gibney Journal is a new bimonthly digital publication for provocative voices. Imagining features writing from the dance and performance community with a New York-metro area focus, and will reflect the scope and diversity of the dance field at large. The first edition will be published on September 22 and will feature an introduction by Editorial Director Eva Yaa Asantewaa and essays by Ogemdi Ude, Maura Nguyen Donohue and Aynsley Vandenbroucke. The November issue will include writing by George Emilio Sanchez, Melanie George and others.

Deeper Lecture Series

With the Deeper Lecture Series, Ms. Yaa Asantewaa introduces a new lecture program designed to acquaint Gibney's community of artists and audiences with the most provocative, influential, and inspiring minds at work in the arts, humanities, and activism. The Deeper Lectures will kick off with poet, community activist, and Emmy Award-winning journalist Felipe Luciano on October 13 from 7 - 9pm and will return this spring.

Tickets for the Deeper Lectures are $10-$20 and events will be held via Zoom.

Living Gallery

Living Gallery presents virtual live performances of storytelling, monologues, spoken word, stand-up, or creative talks. Fall 2020 performances will kick off on October 9 with writer, dancer, and choreographer Melanie Greene, who will present Sapphire Chronicles, a series of dance-inspired short stories pushing visceral, super-sonic modalities into literary fantasies. On November 20, performer, Theater of the Oppressed trainer, and Emmy-award winning writer Kayhan Irani will present an excerpt of There is a Portal, sharing personal stories of language repression, the pain of assimilation, and a mother's love. On December 4 interdisciplinary artist Oceana James will close out the series; additional details to come.

Each 30 - 45-minute performance begins at 7pm and is free and open to the public via Zoom.

Art + Action Talks

Adapting Gibney's Long Table series, Art + Action Talks will be formatted as an online talk show for discerning fans of dance, the creative process, and all the ways art plays a vital role in society.

On December 1, Laurel Atwell, Shamar Wayne Watt, Ogemdi Ude, and iele paloumpis will gather for Spirituality of the Body. The conversation, moderated by Charmaine Warren, introduces dance artists whose work illuminates spiritual ideas and values, where the body is the site of spiritual expression and practice.

All Art + Action Talks begin at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public via Zoom.

Sorry I Missed Your Show

The screening and discussion series Sorry I Missed Your Show will continue to highlight dance works from the recent past and explore their relationship to the dance canon and contemporary practice. The fall line-up includes excerpts of works by Michelle Boulé (October 7), Jennifer Nugent's another piece apart (October 28), and Stefanie Batten Bland's Look Who's Coming To Dinner (December 2).

The screenings and discussions begin at 6:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public via Zoom.