{"id":4503,"date":"2015-02-09T12:18:59","date_gmt":"2015-02-09T17:18:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/?p=4503"},"modified":"2015-02-09T12:18:59","modified_gmt":"2015-02-09T17:18:59","slug":"panel-discussion-with-dance-iquail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/panel-discussion-with-dance-iquail.htm","title":{"rendered":"Panel Discussion with Dance Iquail"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DanceIquail.01.14-7715<\/a>Panel Discussion with Dance Iquail<\/a>
\nRiverside Theatre
\nFebruary 2, 2015
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\nOn February 13th and 14th, Dance Iquail will be presenting a ballet titled Black Swan<\/em> at the Ailey Citigroup Theater.\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0 Executive and Artistic Director Iquail Shaheed and Harlem Arts Alliance presented a powerful program of dance, talk, film and video, along with a panel discussion on the subject of the ongoing segregation, diminished resources and social disenfranchisement that still exists in the dance world in 2015.\u00a0 The evening went from strength to strength and left us with much to consider.
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\nThe program opened with a short excerpt from Carmen de Lavallade\u2019s As I Remember It<\/em>, a solo performance in which poignant movement, film, and storytelling weave an unforgettable memoir about her venerable life on stage.\u00a0 The full length show will be presented at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, February 19th – 25th.<\/a>\u00a0 Producer Anna Glass referred to the event as \u201cCarmen giving a master class on stage.\u201d\u00a0 Ms. de Lavallade, who at 84 remains fit and beautiful, moving with grace and elegance, talked about her experiences with theater and dance, and how study and work in each discipline enhanced her abilities and expression in the other.
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\nDance Iquail presented But Beautiful<\/em>, an excerpt from Black Swan<\/em>, choreographed by Iquail Shaheed with music by Nina Simone.\u00a0 I was impressed by the unique voice of the choreographer and the dance’s fresh approach to combining classical and modern movement.\u00a0 The dancers are barefoot, the women wearing black leotards and black tutus that are short in front and longer in the back.\u00a0 Several references are made to iconic ballets.\u00a0 The dancers stand still on the diagonal, their right arms raised, reminiscent of Balanchine\u2019s _Serenade_.\u00a0 Then with what seems like telepathic timing, their arms softened with classical grace, and I couldn\u2019t help but sigh at the power and the beauty of that little gesture.\u00a0 Four women take hands to form the line of the Cygnets from Swan Lake, and they execute the port de tete from the classic choreography.\u00a0 But their torsos contract and they peel off from the group, one by one, as if to display their individuality and to reject the conformity demanded of the present day classical ballerina in body shape and skin color.\u00a0 Dance Iquail\u2019s mission is to use the art of dance as a conduit for combating issues of social injustice primarily experienced by the disadvantaged.\u00a0 This was expressed beautifully in the dance.\u00a0 This is the type of mission that I deliberately seek out in the arts.\u00a0 I look forward to seeing their evening length performance at Ailey and their future work.
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\nPanel discussions that pack the punch of Black Swan: Solidarity Beyond Colored Pointe Shoes<\/em> are way too few in the dance world.\u00a0 Panelists included Karen KB Brown, former principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem and Artistic Director of Oakland Ballet, Andrea Long-Naidu, who danced with New York City Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem, Iquail Shaheed, Zita Allen, dance writer, journalist and historian, and moderator Baraka Sele, former Assistant Vice President of Programming for the NJPAC Alternate Routes series.
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\nRecurring themes in the discussion included our generation\u2019s awareness (or lack of awareness) of dance history, and what we\u2019re passing on to the generation now coming up. Not just the performance highlights, but the struggles and resilience faced by black dancers in the context of racism and segregation in American history.\u00a0 Iquail Shaheed talked about the need for a community engagement campaign.\u00a0 This is so vitally important.\u00a0 We have to call things by their right name.
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\nZita Allen, the first black critic for Dance Magazine, talked about her early ballet training in Austin, Texas, where she was only allowed to come to the studio if she came in through the back door, accompanied by eleven other students (and no fewer) after everyone else had already gone home.\u00a0 When one student quit, the rest of the group was no longer welcome.
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\nThe story was told about the career of Raven Wilkinson, a light skinned black ballerina who was invited to join the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo in the 1950’s, provided that audiences never found out that she was black.\u00a0 She was often made to wear white makeup on stage, to travel separately, and she was excluded from performing in certain towns in the American south.\u00a0 While the company was in Atlanta, word was leaked that there was a black dancer in the company.\u00a0 In response, the Ku Klux Klan sprang into action.\u00a0 They barged into rehearsal, cornered Alicia Alonso, and demanded to know if she was the \u201cn\u201d in the company.
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\nNot all displays of racism are as blatant, but they are just as damaging.\u00a0 Alicia Graf would be told \u201cyou\u2019re too tall\u201d for a specific role.\u00a0 Josephine Baker had to become a caricature in order to draw an American audience, while in Paris she could be glamorous.\u00a0 It\u2019s said that Balanchine wanted ballerinas to have skin the color of a peeled apple.\u00a0 Courtney Lavine and Aesha Ash were corps dancers who were never able to move up the company hierarchy.\u00a0 Iquail Shaheed overheard his teachers, while casting a ballet, saying of him that he needed to stay out of the sun.
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\nBaraka Sele pointed out that the demographics of ballet companies do not reflect the demographics of the country, yet the companies receive funding from, among other entities, the American government.
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\nShe also encouraged ballet students and fans to read and know history.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s not enough to raise your leg high.\u201d
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\nZita Allen echoed this, stressing the importance of understanding the historic context of favorite ballets.\u00a0 It enhances a dance fan\u2019s appreciation of Revelations<\/em> if she understands what was going on in America circa 1960.\u00a0 Ms. Allen encouraged young choreographers to care about the world that they are living in and to address the political in their works \u201ceven if it\u2019s done obliquely\u201d.
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\nKaren KB Brown talked about the absurdity of putting black ballerinas in pink tights and pink pointe shoes.\u00a0 This type of costuming cuts the look of the dark skinned ballerina in half.\u00a0 For choreographers and artistic directors who protest that they can\u2019t use a black ballerina because she will stand out too much, Ms. Brown\u2019s \u201csolution oriented\u201d advice was that they should hire more than one.
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\nSeveral of the panelists gave book recommendations.\u00a0 Books mentioned included The Black Dancing Body<\/em> and Joan Myers Brown & the Audacious Hope of the Black Ballerina<\/em> by Brenda Dixon Gottschild, The New Jim Crow<\/em>\u00a0 by Michelle Alexander and The Autobiography of Malcolm X<\/em> as told to Alex Haley.\u00a0 Andrea Long-Naidu advocated reading spiritual books, to help dancers develop the inner strength that they will need to progress in the dance world.\u00a0 Iquail Shaheed talked about sending his students to the web to research dance history.\u00a0 He recommended Jacob\u2019s Pillow\u2019s Interactive Web Site<\/a>, where he was able to learn about the genesis of Creole Giselle<\/em>.\u00a0 He put out a call for dancers to put their archives up online, where they\u2019d be available to everyone.
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\nI loved<\/em> this event.\u00a0 Those who made up the panel were so inspiring.\u00a0 They raised thoughtful questions, they taught me and they left me with a thirst to learn more.\u00a0 I\u2019m hoping that there will be more talks like this to come, because they are sorely needed.
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\nThe video below, Sun Moon Child<\/em> with music by Imani Uzuri was shown at the end of the evening.\u00a0 Take a look.\u00a0 If you’re older,\u00a0 it will bring back great memories that might drive you to tears.\u00a0 If you’re young, it will school you.<\/p>\n