Dancing Conversation: Queer Movements

Tune in for NCCAkron's newest Dancing Conversation! These free public events locate dance among broader topics and offer an opportunity to demonstrate the aesthetic range within the dance field. All our Spring 2021 Dancing Conversations — on dance & music, women & witchcraft, and Black male choreographers — are available on our YouTube channel.

On August 19, choreographer Pioneer Winter (Miami, FL) will share work and lead a conversation on queer history, resistance, community, and identity — "movements" as both political action and choreography. Winter's upcoming work Birds of Paradise continues Winter’s exploration of beauty and virtuosity outside the mainstream by creating a series of dance-based queer solo portraits on the themes of agency, survival, and transformation.

The event’s title, Dancing Conversation: Queer Movements, was inspired in part by a recent conversation with NCCAkron Alumni Artist and NCCMedia Artist Editorial Council member, Cara Hagan, who explored a range of definitions of movement whether physical movement, the emotion of feeling moved, or movements in history as part of greater civic acts. Through this lens, Akron community members are invited to join the conversation to provide their own insights.

Community members from the Akron Pride Festival and The University of Akron (UA) will join NCCAkron Executive/Artistic Director Christy Bolingbroke in discussions about the intersections of queer identity, space, and self-preservation. Community members include Arnie Tunstall (Director, University Galleries, Myers School of Art; Interim Program Coordinator, Arts Administration), LaTonda Mobley (Akron Pride Festival Steering Committee and chair of the Cultural Humility sub-committee), and Tony Pankuch (Archives Assistant, Cummings Center for the History of Psychology).

Dancing Conversation: Queer Movements is part of a greater relationship between Winter and NCCAkron. In December 2021, Winter will visit NCCAkron for a technical residency to explore alternative presenting spaces and formats for his work Birds of Paradise. Featuring interwoven filmed and live dance performance, this new work is developed in collaboration with the performers, the White Elephant Group media company, and sound artist Juraj Kojš.

Photo of Katrina Petrarca and Josue Garcia by WORLD RED EYE.