Virtual Salon Series for Social Change 2023 at The Clemente Center

Mark DeGarmo Dance will present its 13th annual curated transcultural transdisciplinary Salon Performance Series for Social Change 2023 on 6 Thursdays at 7pm ET: three salons virtually on January 5, February 2, March 2 via Zoom; and 3 salons on April 6, May 4, and June 1 in person at MDD Studio Theater 310 at The Clemente Center in NYC’s Lower East Side. These salons are the first in person MDD performances in its Studio Theater 310 since the city’s 2020 lockdown. MDD will present the works-in-progress of 4 performing artists at each salon. VSPS is a curated transcultural transdisciplinary sharing of original works-in-progress with audience response encouraged and facilitated by dancer, choreographer, writer, researcher, and Founder, Executive & Artistic Director of MDD, Dr. Mark DeGarmo.  

This year during MDD’s 35th Anniversary, MDD will produce 24 presenting artists and groups. 17 of the 24 artists and groups are New York City-based, illuminating MDD’s role in helping New York City rebound after the significant flight and permanent loss of artists, arts organizations, and dwellers from the city over the current 2 years and 8 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The artists MDD selected beyond New York City show the nonprofit organization’s commitment to support and connect to a wider public under-resourced, under-represented, noncommercial global and national dance artists. SPS 2023 artists additionally hail from Democratic Republic of Congo, California, Kentucky, and New Jersey. MDD SPS 2023 artists and their works represent a wide range of creative artistry and cultural backgrounds, including communities such as, Asian American and Pacific Islander; Black, Indigenous, and Latinx People of Color; LGBTQIA+; People with Disabilities;and seniors.

2023 SPS line-up includes:

January 5 – Lucia Gagliardone, Misaki Hayama, Rush Johnson, Mboko Lopiki

February 2 – Ari LaMora, Jill Moshman, Mayu Nakaya, & Anisha Ramakrishna Yarlapati

March 2 – Teresa Fellion, Sloka Iyengar, Anabella Lenzu, & Kiran Rajagopalan 

April 6 – Nicole Bradbury, Nathan Forster, Grant Jacoby, & Liam McLaughlin

May 4 – David Appel, Kathy Luo, Charly Santagado, Miranda Stück

June 1 – Melanie Holm, Marianna Koytsan, Bianca Moise, & SarAika Movement Collective

About MDD’s Salon Performance Series for Social Change

Founded in 2010, MDD's Salon Performance Series for Social Change aims to support the professional learning and development of its selected performing artists. SPS provides a curated opportunity for the general public to view, engage with, and demystify original dance and movement works-in-progress of selected guest artists. Since October of 2020, MDD produced and presented 18 salons, including 2 Virtual International Arts Festivals featuring 329 Artists from 18 states: California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky. Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin & 29 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, England, France, Germany, Haiti, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Trinidad, Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, & USA.

MDD’s immediate pivot to live virtual programming since March 2020 has led the fields of dance, performing arts, education, and nonprofit organizations from the beginning of the pandemic. MDD’s webinar on navigating live remote teaching with New York City public elementary schools and students for the National Dance Education Organization for 150 U.S. dance educators in June 2020 exemplifies its commitment to dance in all of its forms for all audiences locally, nationally, and internationally.

Dancer/performer, choreographer, writer, and researcher Mark DeGarmo founded and curates the series. He supports and facilitates audience response as part of each salon. DeGarmo guides positive discourse among the artists and audience members and encourages the public to actively participate in the development of original works-in-progress and understanding of dance as an accessible transcultural transdisciplinary art form and an essential part of humankind’s global cultural heritage.