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Presentation of Fly: Five First Ladies of Dance

Painted Bride

Recipient

Grant Year 2010

Grant Amount $80,500

Status Completed

Updated May 30, 2023

The Painted Bride Art Center presented Fly: Five First Ladies of Dance, featuring Germaine Acogny, Carmen de Lavallade, Dianne McIntyre, Bebe Miller, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Collectively, these five artists span a huge range of African American dance experience. To amplify the public impact of this project, Painted Bride also initiated a program of interviews with Philadelphia dance artists who work in traditions represented by the guest artists, which are available on a website dedicated to the project. Public events in addition to the sold out performances included line dancing classes; a preshow discussion with dance scholar Brenda Dixon Gottschild about her work on a new Center-funded biography, Joan Myers Brown & The Audacious Hope of the Black Ballerina: A Biohistory of American Performance; and a "behind-the-scenes" intimate conversation with the Fly participants, facilitated by Dixon Gottschild.

Recipient

Painted Bride

As a presenting arts organization, the Painted Bride offers a wide range of work in music, dance, spoken word, and theater, supporting over 25,000 artists, hosting over 5,000 events, and commissioning over 100 new works since 1969. Throughout its history, the Bride has been committed to supporting a wide range of artists and amplifying underrepresented voices to foster diversity and inclusivity.

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