Announcing Artists for the Decolonizing Dance Writing: International Exchange Project

by Gregory King

Congratulations to Emmanuel Cudjoe (Ghana), Juan Felipe Miranda Medina (Peru), Jack Gray (Aotearoa/New Zealand), Umeshi Rajeendra (Sri Lanka) and Diana Teresa Gutiérrez García (Columbia), on being invited to share their practice as guest artists of the 2021 Decolonizing Dance Writing: International Exchange Project. Supported by thINKingDANCE and funded by Critical Minded, the project is curated and directed by Gregory King, associate professor of dance at Kent State University, and dance writer for tD, See Chicago Dance, and Dance Magazine. The project was born out of a need to celebrate dance traditions, aesthetics, and forms outside the western canon and to amplify the way we engage with dance scholarship. The guest artist series will include a recorded interview with the artist (an edited written interview will be published on tD’s website), an open virtual class / workshop offered free to the public via zoom, and an article documenting how the artist navigates colonialism within their practice. These pieces will be written by writers of color on tD’s roster, supported by editors King, L. Graciella Maiolatesi, and Dr. C. Kemal Nance.

• Peru
• July                              Artist Series #1            Juan Felipe Miranda Medina

                                                            Writer: Leila Mire                              

• Sri Lanka 
• August                         Artist Series #2            Umeshi Rajeendra                             

                                                                       Writer: Rhonda Moore

• Aotearoa / New Zealand
• September                  Artist Series #3            Jack Gray – Atamira Dance Company                        

                                                                       Writer: Nikolai Mckenzie Ben Rema

• Columbia
• October                       Artist Series #4            Diana Teresa Gutierrez – Embodying Reconciliation

                                                                       Writer: Lauren Putty White

• Ghana
• November                   Artist Series #5            Emmanuel Cudjoe                                         

                                                                       Writer: Ani Gavino

Details about each artist’s public presentation will be advertised in advance with registration information. All events will be held via zoom and made available to the public free of charge over the next five months. Additionally, the cohort of writers and editors will privately convene to exchange ideas that can further the Decolonizing Dance Writing project as it lives at thINKingDANCE long term.

By Gregory King
June 27, 2021