Sydnie L. Mosley Dances to Present PURPLE: A Ritual In Nine Spells At Dance Place

PURPLE: A Ritual in Nine Spells is an evening-length ritual choreopoem that embodies the power of deep sisterhood for social change through storytelling and movement. Inspired by beloved ancestor, playwright, poet, and feminist Ntozake Shange (best known for her Obie Award-winning play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide), PURPLE amplifies women and nonbinary voices and captures the radical joy in a place.

PURPLE is devised and performed by Sydnie L. Mosley Dances, an NYC-based dance-theater collective that works in communities to organize for gender and racial justice through experiential dance performance. Danced by a multi-generational ensemble of twelve, the piece was developed in part through engagements with Lincoln Center Education. The work premieres alongside a pre-show multimedia art installation in the lobby; What Does PURPLE Sound Like? which spotlights older adults from our local communities.

In January 2024, Sydnie L. Mosley Dances was named as one of Dance Magazine's 25 To Watch: "Electric performances, thought-provoking choreography, buzzy bodies of work-the artists... poised for a breakout share an uncanny knack for arresting attention. They've been turning heads while turning what's expected-in a performance, from a career trajectory-on its head. We're betting we'll be seeing a lot more of them this year, and for many years to come."

Connect with Sydnie L. Mosley Dances by heading to their website, Instagram, or Facebook.

This project was supported by a National Performance Network (NPN) Artist Engagement Fund, with funding from the Doris Duke Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information, visit www.npnweb.org.

This engagement of Sydnie L. Mosley Dances (SLMDances) is made possible in part through the Special Presenter Initiatives program of Mid Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

This presentation is supported by The Carla Fund for Choreography and Performance, established by the Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation.

Accessibility Services Offered:

? ASL Interpretation will be available for the Saturday, April 27th performance

? Large print programs

? Accessible seating

? Accessible restrooms

About the Artistic Director

Sydnie L. Mosley is an award winning artist-activist and educator who is interested in creative work that is both artistically sound and socially aware. She produces experiential dance works with her collective SLMDances. Through their choreographic work, the collective works in communities to organize for gender and racial justice. Her evening length dances The Window Sex Project and BodyBusiness, their creative processes and performance experiences are a model for dance-activism. Sydnie was recognized by NYC Mayor de Blasio for using her talents in dance to fuel social change. Her dances have been performed extensively throughout New York City, including the 2023 premiere of PURPLE: A Ritual In Nine Spells at Lincoln Center. She was listed in Dance Magazine's 2024 "25 to watch" and as one of twenty-five "Up and Coming: Young Minority Artists and Entrepreneurs" by TheRoot.com. A versatile dancer, Sydnie is a part of the 2017 Bessie Award winning cast of the skeleton architecture, the future of our worlds curated by Eva Yaa Asantewaa. Sydnie danced with Christal Brown's INSPIRIT, a dance company (2010-2013) and appeared as a guest artist for Brooklyn Ballet 2009-2019. An advocate for the dance field, Sydnie sits on the Advisory Committee to Dance/NYC. Her writing has appeared in Essence, Dance Magazine, and the Brooklyn Rail. She graduated from Barnard College in Dance and Africana Studies and earned an MFA in Dance Choreography from the University of Iowa.

About Dance Place

Rooted in the United States capital, Washington D.C., Dance Place supports movement artists by creating opportunities for creative development, performance, and education. By investing deeply in artists and centering those who have been systemically excluded from such opportunities, we strengthen the dance field.

SLMDances; Photo by Travis Coe

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