NR Magazine March/April 2016 Issue

Ngoma R eader Washington, D.C.’s Dance Magazine

KanKouran Dance Company

Dancer Jamal Ari Black

Danseur Images

Artistic Director Daniel Phoenix Singh

www.ngomareader.org

Health: Gluteus and Maximal Turnout

March / April 2016

Dance Metro DC Your Dance Community Auditions, News, Performances and more...

www.dancemetrodc.org Ngoma Reader Magazine Partner 2

Dissonance Dance Theatre Shawn Short, Founder/Producing Artistic Director Winter/Spring Events 2016 WINTERSTEPS

Filled with DDT favorites from Short, Tuerk, and Africandance great Assadata Dafora. This year features a worldpremiere to the music of recording-artist Kelela, and live music accompanied by The Georgetown Quintet!

Saturday January 16th, 2016 8pm Jack Guidone Theatre (JOMDC)/ Friendship Heights Tickets Starting @ $15

Heads or Tails

Ballet meets contemporary gooeyness as Principal Choreographer Shawn Short present s visually stimulating dance. Heads & Tails is a an evening of dance with a two-part program blending classical finesse and contemporary mastery in an evening of great dance entertainment.

Sunday February 28, 2016 2pm INTERSECTIONS Festival/ Atlas Perf Arts Center Tickets starting @ $30

Black to Silver: A Black LGBT Experience

(Mature Audiences) Experience the beauty and heartfelt energy of Dissonance Dance Theatre Black To Silver: A Road to Self.

Black to Silver (now in its 4th year), features new works by new and old choreographers, and a new 30-minute work, Manny, a tale of a guy who is more in love with himself than anyone else...until love rears its ugly head.

Saturday, April 16th, 2016, 8pm Sunday, April 17th, 2016, 7pm Jack Guidone Theatre (JOMDC)/ Friendship Heights Tickets Starting @ $15

For ticket purchases visit www.ddtdc.org For information on our Summer DanceLab program, auditions or our youth programs visit or parent organization Ngoma Center for Dance at www.ngoma-center-for-dance.org

3

Washington, D.C.’s Dance Magazine

Ngoma R eader Editor In Chief/Publisher Shawn Short

sshort@ngoma-center-for-dance.org

Editor Damon Foster

dfoster@ngoma-center-for-dance.org

Contributing Writers and Editors Stephen Clapp Derek Clemente Damon Foster Ingrid Graham Donovan Johnson Tyler Lewis Tehreema Mitha Shawn Short Chris Law Staff Photographers Jeremiah Jones Jade Enders Shawn Short Sergey Apasov

For advertisement information and news submissions, please email: 4

Table of Contents Volume 3 Issue 2 Feature 6 KanKouran Dance Company

By Damon Foster

Photography Feature

Health

13 Danseur Images

By May Kesler, MA, MS, MTh, PT

19 Gluteus and Maximal Turnout

By Shawn Short

Artistic Director Spotlight 10 Daniel Phoenix Singh

By Staff

Dancer Spotlight 16 Jamal Ari Black

By Staff

Cover Image: Moyston Henry Photography by: Shawn Short

KanKouran Dance Company

5

6

Timeless Steps…

KanKouran Dance Company

By Damon Foster KanKouran Dance Company continues to show relevancy and determination.

Esteemed West African Choreographer keeps his eyes on the prize: building community one child, one step at a time. Co-founder of Kankouran West African Dance Company, Konte has spent the last three decades raising the bar of achievement among Washington D.C. youth and bringing KanKouran into national and international prominence, with the company’s signature elaborate costumes, eclectic drum arrangements, and energetic songs.

For Konte, West African dance showcased on in major concert halls was a vision from day one. He and along with co-founder, the late Abdou Kounta, his childhood friend and drummer launched the company in 1983. Both had grown up together in Dakar, Senegal where dance was intricately woven in everyday life of the community.

“There was always dance around me,” Konte said. “I remember watching my family members, my mother especially, dance at various gatherings. I knew early that I wanted to be dancer and perform on stage. In Dakar, there were no schools of dance. If you wanted to study you had to join a company and train while in school. I think that regiment instilled in us a type of resiliency.”

By age 19, Konte was living in the country of Cote d’ Ivoire (The Ivory Coast), performing nightly in the local resorts. Even then Konte yearn for a theatrical expression on West African Dance. Accepting an offer to launch a dance company, Konte moved to Washington D.C. In a time when the Afro-Centric movement of the 70s spilled into the early 80s, Konte encountered strong public interest in West African dance; however, not from the immediately African-American community.

“At that time, there was a strong demand for performances and for classes by people to wanting to learn West African dance,” Konte said. “I have to honor the African community that was already present in the capital when I arrived, and we launched the company. In particularly the people from West Africa—they these dance, these songs, and all of their meaning. We take pride in our culture.

“For my native African-American brothers and sisters, West African dance seemed mysterious, intimidating, even strange. But I understood this, as generations of African-descendent people born in this country have been stripped of the knowledge of the authentic African heritage. There was little awareness of West African culture, music, or movement. Education and time would be key.”

And with those experiences, Konte and Kouta launched KanKouran Dance school. Today, KanKouran is home to three performing companies: the Senior, Junior, and Children’s ensembles. Goal of the school is clear: to preserve and share the culture of Africa—to educate.

The company has maintained a contiuous presence education and cultural events throughout the greater Washington D.C. area, the U.S. at large, and abroad. Konte is currently faculty at University,

7

8

Photos courtesy of KanKouran West African Dance Company

and has taught most the major local universities in times past, including Georgetown University, George Mason University and American University.

Yet for the prestige, numerous awards, and ongoing accolades, KanKouran is without its own home— an accomplishment that has alluded Konte. Currently, the company operates its programming out of Dance Exchange in Takoma Park. There is offers a both dance and drumming lessons. Konte is certain that KanKouran can achieve its “fuller potential” once the company acquires its own facility.

“For my native African-American brothers and sisters, West African dance seemed mysterious, intimidating, even strange. But I understood this, as generations of African-descendent people born in this country have been stripped of the knowledge of the authentic African heritage.”

“All performing arts groups know that when you have your own facility, you have power. KanKouran has performed at the Kennedy Center, the White House, and over wonderful halls around the country, yet in a city that has rapidly become more expensive for residents and businesses alike, a find proper space remains a hard task,” Konte said.

“We are fighting the fight like many other arts organizations in the city, volleying for the selective funding of the DCCAH and other foundations. It’s remains overwhelming, yet I am a hustler and the company dancers work hard and we will continue to do what we do best which is educate and perform, all the while embracing better business practices. It’s contradictory to have great programming and shows, but run your business poorly.”

9

Artistic Director Spotlight

Daniel Phoenix Singh Photo courtesy of Daniel Singh

Artistic director and president of Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company talks about his inspirations, upcoming show, and future expectations.

Daniel Phoenix Singh has seen his share of changes and adversity in the Washington, DC dance community since he first Indian cultural dance to the forefront in 2003. As artistic director and president of Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company (DDPSSDC), Singh continues to push the creative envelope on a dance form known as much for What motivated you to start Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix its mysteriousness as it is for its beauty. The Singh Dance Company?

DDPSSDC is a staple in the D.C. and has been I was interested in doing Bharata Natyam, Modern recognized nationally and internationally. Singh Dance, and Social Dances like Salsa and Tango. I speaks to NR on his inspirations, upcoming show, wanted to stay anchored in my cultural traditions and future expectations. while simultaneously bringing them forward with the essence of Modern Dance. In addition, I was How were you first exposed to dance? also very strongly interested in dances that had a I started taking Bharata Natyam classes when strong social justice thread. There aren’t many I moved to the US when I was about 18 or 19. companies that have this combination of threads Shortly there after I took a ballet class for a and so I decided to start my own company. And PE requirement and I was hooked on dance. I finally, Dakshina means offering in Sanskrit, and switched from a computer science to a dance major and have never looked back. It was the best it is this vision of offering our gift back to the community that drives the over all path of our decision I’ve ever made. company.

10

Describe the presence on Indian Dance in 2003 when the company launched and how has DDPSDC contributed to the growth on Indian dance in Washington D.C. Is there more awareness and interest in Indian cultural dance?

There were several dance schools in the suburbs in MD and VA, and several soloists. The idea of a professional company was a new idea in the Indian dance community. I wanted to perform and present Indian dance on par with any other world class dance form, as a profession, and not as a happy. My company is the anchor for DC’s annual Festival of South Asian Dance—the longest running festival in the region. Through our dedicated efforts, we’ve raised the profile of local and international South Asian soloists and companies.

There is definitely more awareness of South Asian dance, but it tends to veer towards Bollywood. I love bollywood, but it veers towards entertainment and doesn’t have the richness of the classical dance forms of South Asia. I love to use any access point to guide our audiences to a deeper conversation about dance and its role in society. So Bollywood has provided a perfect opportunity to start a conversation with American audiences on the different facets of South Asian Dance.

What is the continued appeal on Indian dance in 2016?

I think people realize that it is a rare composite of dance, music, poetry, literature, and theater.

Originally people just wanted to watch the pretty gestures and hear the rich rhythms. Now, after years of exposure people want to get more, and are willing to go to introspective places and walk away with a deeper understanding. Personally for me, it is interesting how all the structured grammar in Bharata Natyam forces you to find creativity in new places, and to keep finding ways to make it relevant to our current lives. This is the continued appeal of South Asian Dance, its ability to span history while being the perfect foil for current day social commentary.

What inspires you as a dance maker?

I’m inspired by many things from books, poetry, stories, and music. But the underlying essence of dance for me is that dance allows me to connect with another person without the boundaries of words. In dance, I find the freedom

that the world and words don’t give me.

How would describe your choreography style?

My choreography style is process driven and often collaborative. I come in with a dance phrase, and play with dancers in the studio, and tease out the direction the phrase can take with the energy of the dancers. Even for dances with a narrative thread, I always start with abstract movement ideas. I find that abstraction allows for a way to move the personal impetus into universal experiences.

Being the nation’s capital, Washington D.C. is an epicenter of cultural diversity. As an artistic director, what have been some of your challenges in raising an Indian-based dance company that has become largely successful and renown outside of the immediate Indian community?

DC may be perceived as culturally diverse, but there is still a lot of systemic preferences for mainstream art. The funding sources are almost all based on a rather western and formal idea of art/dance/dance company. South Asian dance forms function in a more fluid space. So in a sense funding sources are already preferential towards larger, mainstream, western dance/arts projects.

Trying to be seen, to be funded, and to to create work in this vacuum is quite alienating. I find that minority or culturally specific dance companies have to do all the artistic work a mainstream ballet or symphony would have to do, but also has to do extra work in educating, in breaking down systemic barriers, and constantly proving our worth in metrics that can’t possibly be accurate for our systems.. That has been the major source of energy and talent drain working in DC. In addition, any company outside DC has county, city, and state level funding. In DC, we have one pot.

This is another downfall of living and working in DC. Yet, we are committed to serving DC residents precisely because of this void.

You are debuting a new show at this year’s INTERSECTIONS, entitled Mortal Tongues, Immortal Stories, which deals with the impact of AIDS in our society....what inspired the concept? What do you hope to accomplish with the production?

I was inspired to do this work when I heard several of the poems at a poetry reading. AIDS has affected the LGBT and artist communities disproportionately and I felt a strong desire to bear 11

witness to this quite recent time in our collective history when there was so much stigma and misinformation around the disease. I hope the project helps those who lost someone to AIDS find catharsis, and I hope the next generation is able to witness and relive the richness of the artworks that was happening even in the midst of the AIDS epidemic.

Addressing social issues is a constant theme throughout your work, why is that?

I’m paraphrasing Nina Simone who said, I believe we must reflect the needs of our times. And given the turmoil and conflict whether it is the Black Lives Matter movement, the absence of support for the Native Peoples of America, or the refugee crisis here in the US, and in Europe, or the continued oppression of Palestinian peoples, oppression is interlinked. I cannot in good conscience as a dancer and choreographer not address these crucial issues when I create my work. It’s not so much that social issues are a constant theme, but that life is the constant theme. My work reflects the society and life around us.

Where do you see Indian dance progressing in Washington D.C. over the next decade?

I see South Asian Dance developing as a strong technique based training that will help dancers tap into their expressive self. Especially as dancers age, South Asian Dance is the perfect foil to take all those life experiences and find a way to express it without words, with a look, with a gesture, with a tilt of the body. I see South Asian Dance developing as the bridge that connects generations and cultures.

Daniel Phoenix Singh is the Artistic Director and President of Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company. Working from a broad palette of styles such as Bharata Natyam, Modern Dance, and Social dance forms, Daniel creates vibrant dances that mirror the communities that inspire him. In modern dance, movement at its core, is a means of connecting to each other without the boundaries and burdens of text–an open to interpretation approach that allows the viewer to enter and leave with their own personal meaning. In Bharata Natyam, all movement (even abstract) leads towards an emotional transcendence, and is often 12

grounded in the rich literary traditions of the many languages in South Asia. Daniel weaves together this confluence of South Asian and Modern philosophies, aesthetics, and movement styles to create his signature hybridized work.

Singh is currently on the faculty at Maryland Youth Ballet, and often guest teaches at schools and Universities. Singh is affiliated with KhushDC, a Washington DC organization serving the South Asian LGBT community and its friends. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities recognized Dakshina with an Innovate Arts Award in 2015–Dakshina was the only dance company to receive this distinguished award which will support the community involved creation of this work.

Learn More About Daniel

Danseur Images

by Shawn Short

Model/Dancer William Wilson

13

14

Model/Dancer Moyston Henry

15

Dancer Spotlight

Jamal Ari Black

A contemporary dance artist and choreographer creating works based in narrative and visual symbolism Jamal Ari Black is a contemporary dance artist and choreographer who has performed with noted modern dance companies throughout Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina including Edgeworks Dance Theater, Clancy Works Dance Company, Dakshina/ Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company, and John Gamble Dance Theater.

He creates works that are established in narrative and visual symbolism. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Choreography and Performance from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is a Master of Fine Arts candidate at The George Washington University.

Where are you from?

I am originally from Goldsboro, North Carolina.

How old are you and what’s your zodiac sign?

I am 31 years old and I am a Cancer.

Where do you dance currently?

I am a MFA candidate in Dance at George Washington University and I frequently perform with Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company.

16

Photos courtesy of Jamal Ari Black

17

What’s in your dance bag?

I have a travel bag where I keep tape, scissors, bandaids and other first aid type things, I have a Thera-Band, a tennis ball, Tiger Balm, a sweater, knee pads, sunglasses, headphones, socks, and a planner. iPhone or Android?

iPhone always.

Who inspires you in the dance world? Do you have a dance mentor?

It’s hard to pick one inspiration but if I have to choose, I am always striving to be as fearless as Louise Lecavalier who used to dance with La La La Human Steps. I have many people who I have considered to be mentors at given moments in my career Duane Cyrus, Helanius J. Wilkins, and Daniel Phoenix Singh are among them.

What do you love about modern dance?

It is the type of dance that fits my body and the feels the most natural to me. Even within modern dance there are some techniques or styles I prefer over others.

What’s your dream dance gig to work with?

My focus right now is on making my own work and learning what are the best, most productive and cost efficient ways to present whatever I create.

Sneaker, Boots, or High Heels?

Sneakers Single or Dating?

Dating What would be your funniest dance moment?

I can name three equally embarrassing moments. I once forgot the right undergarments for a performance and happened to wear boxers that day. I have fallen onstage during a showing for presenters for a national tour. I have ran into a wing during an exit in silence that resulted in the clinging of chains echoing in the rafters of the theater.

Favorite dance moment?

One of my favorite moments was performing on an outdoor stage at Darpana Academy of Performing Arts in Ahmedabad, India.

How do you envision your dance career over the next 10 years?

Hopefully I will have earned my MFA and will be putting that to very good use. I hope that I will still have a desire for the stage.

Learn More About Jamal

18

Gluteus and Maximal Turnout

By May Kesler, MA, MS, MTh, PT

In dance today, turning out has been taken to a greater extreme than most pelvic alignment will allow.

Though some dancers have hypermobile joints and can easily stand in 180 degree first position, many dancers don’t have that innate flexibility.

The gluteal muscles have a major role in this movement.

Turnout began as way to facilitate moving side to side across the theatre stage. It also came from fencing, as turning the leg out allowed the fencers to move more quickly.

In dance today, turning out has been taken to a greater extreme than most pelvic alignment will allow. Though some dancers have hypermobile joints and can easily stand in 180 degree first position, many dancers don’t have that innate flexibility. Forcing turnout past what the hip joints easily allow can easily lead to back, hip, knee, ankle and foot injuries. However, lengthening and strengthening hip muscles can lead to better turnout and much more stable and strong dancing. This is because the turnout muscles stabilize the pelvis and hip, allowing the leg to maintain alignment with the pelvis to maintain balance on the standing leg. We use this stability in all of our dancing, in releve, pirouettes, moving and jumping across the floor.

Muscles work in concert. If an internal rotator (IR) is tight, it will also tighten the external rotator(ER). Why? That sounds contradictory. When an IR is tight, ER is limited, so ER muscles get weak and then tight from trying to overcome the pull from the IR’s. There is a constant monitoring of the condition of the muscles

so that they can work together to achieve the desired movement. So in striving for optimal movement, we need to look at the how the total body works. If there are restrictions, it can limit movement in other unexpected parts of the body. Trunk rotation is a movement we don’t check as often. IF your rotation is limited, then your turnout will be limited too on one side or the other – it depends on how you compensated for it. But uneven use of the body will result in imbalance, which will mean one side will not be as flexible or strong.

Gluteus Minimus Gluteus minimus actually is a hip stabilizer, abducts and internally rotates the hip. This means that it helps with balance, develop to the side, and internal rotation.

If you are thinking that means that the gluteus minimus doesn’t interest you if you are working on turnout, think again! If this muscle is or weak, it will inhibit turnout, not only because if tight it would pull the hip internally, but if it were tight and weak, balance would be weak, and therefore you wouldn’t have the stability to hold your standing leg in turnout.

Gluteus Medius Gluteus mediuss also a hip stabilizer, abductor and while it’s anterior fibers internally rotated the thigh, the posterior fibers turn out the thigh. These actions work to hold the pelvis and hip still while you are standing on that leg, again, essential for dancers, as well as leg extension and develope when it is the working leg.

Gluteus Maximus Gluteus maximus s a hip stabilizer through the iliotibial band, extends, abduct externally rotates the thigh. It is very active in arabesque and balance especially with releve and combre back.

Tight muscles are weaker, if only by virtue of the fact that if tight, the muscle bands have no room to contract.

So unraveling any myofascial restrictions is the first order of business in improving technique. Next, you want to become aware of and strengthen the mind body connection of how you use your muscles and how the way you move affects your alignment. Find how your turnout works from the sensation to the action, then strengthen the pathway of movement to the most efficient way of turning out for you.

19

For example, stand parallel facing barre. Shift your weight forward and back on your feet. Notice how your pelvis shifts forward and back. Now reverse the way your pelvis shifts. Move your pelvis back when your weight goes forward, and your pelvis forward when your weight goes back. This will seem awkward at first and impossible. But after a few minutes, it’s easier, and you will be using deeper muscles in the hip and pelvis than you did before.

Now shift your weight side to side. Notice the direction your pelvis goes when you do this. Now reverse the pelvic direction. It again will feel so strange that it will confuse you. But that very confusion allows the body to discover new more efficient ways of moving, and areas that are too tight or lack range. By experimenting with this movement, your will be increasing flexibility in your hip and pelvis.

Do the same side shift in an easy first position, using the same steps as above.

You can also shift your weight over your feet in a circle, noting again the unconscious way your pelvis moves with the weight shift, and then reversing it.

In between these explorations, get on the floor in an X position. Notice your feet, where the floor touches your heels, knees, thighs, pelvis, back, ribs, shoulders, and head. After a few minutes of the exercises, come back to lying on the floor and sensing the changes that happened in your body.

These are mind body exercises. They are important 20

because we can don’t use a single muscle group to do a single action. The elasticity and strength of the gluts, your turnout muscles, and your balance are dependent on so many factors.

Some simple exercise I do to warm up pelvic muscles follow: All of these exercises should not cause pain, nor should they be done with any force creating pain. The sensation should be a lengthening in the muscle and joint and body. It should be comfortable to hold the lengthening positions for 3-5 minutes. That is a much longer time than we are used to in dance class, but for permanent changes in myofascial tissue, that length of time is needed. Otherwise shorter stretch times are only stretching elastic tissue, not the full myofascial complex.

Do not do if you have an injury, sharp pain, or pain that radiates to other areas or causes numbness, or if you have a short term or long term illness. In those cases see your physical therapist first, or physician if necessary.

Goalie Wide wide 2nd position. Shift your weight over your legs like a goalie. Think of initiating it with your tailbone. This warms up the sacroiliac joint.

Monkey Rolldown In the wide 2nd position, easily bent knees, roll down top of the head towards the floor. Let your arms hang.

Shift weight over your feet so your tail bone is making figure 8’s on the ceiling. Slowly rollup aligning pelvis first then trunk then head.

Photos courtesy of May Kessler

Floor Barre Lie on your back, bend knees, tops of inner thighs, knees, and ankles together. Flex one foot, slide it up to parallel passe, then parallel attitude. Bring that leg to a turned out attitude. Repeat 5 times, then bring the leg back to parallel passe and back to start.

Pretzel Lie on your back, turnout passe ankle over knee . Bring knee to chest, thread arms through the parallel knee that is towards your chest. Gently bring knee closer to chest, and rock it side to side. Feel the different fibers of the hip muscles stretch.

Foam rollers and porcupine balls Use to lean into and give a gentle long held stretch to tight muscle areas of all the gluts and hip external rotators, which are from the side near the top of your hip to the back, stopping before the spine and sacrum.

Also don’t use the foam roller on the iliotibial band.

New research has shown that intense rolling damages the tissues, and doesn’t unwind them. Gentle long held pressure does, at 3- 5 minutes per area.

There is so much to learn about how our bodies work, and dance is the best and healthiest way to do it. See what you can discover and let me know! I am available to teach classes or give private sessions on injury prevention, treatment, alignment, and contemporary dance class, as well as Floor-BarreÂŽ.

21

Community Directory African-American Managed Dance Companies African Dancers and Drummers Melvin Deal, Founder 1320 Good Hope Rd Southeast Washington D.C 20020 202-399-5252 www.facebook.com/ africanheritagedc Cacho Dancers and Drummers Bonita Cacho, Founder/Artisitic Director 202-607-0164 Coyaba Dance Theatre Sylvia Soumah, Founding Artistic Director 3225 8th Street Northeast Washington, D.C 20017 (202) 269-1600

www.coyabadancetheater.org Dissonance Dance Theatre Shawn Short, Founding Artistic Director Resident Company of Ngoma Center for Dance P.O. Box 2377, Washington D.C 20013 202-540-8338 www.ddtdc.org EdgeWorks Dance Theatre Helanius J. Wilkins, Founding Artisitic Director P.O.Box 73396 Washington D.C, 20056 (202) 483-0606Â www.hjwedgeworks.org Farafina Kan Mahiri Fadjimba Keita, Founding Artistic Director 3802Â 34th Street, Mt Rainier, MD 20722 http://www.farafinakan.com Just Tap/Sole Defined Quynn Johnson, Ryan Johnson Founding Artistic Director www.quynnjohnson.com 22

KanKouran West African Dance Company Assane Konte, Founding Artistic Director P.O. Box 1338 Washingto D.C, 2013 202-518-1213 www.kankouran.org Lesoles Dance Project Lesole Z. Maine, Founding Artistic Director 3802 34th street. Mt. Rainer, MD 240-744-6694 www.ldpdance.org Memory of African Culture Akua Femi Kouyate, Founder MAC, Inc. P.O. Box 50045, Washington, D.C. 20091 (202) 210-7120 www.memoryofafricanculture.org Step Afrika Brian Williams, Founding Excetive Director 133 4th street NE Washington, D.C 20002 202-399-7993 ext. 112 www.stepafrica.org Vision Contemporary Dance Katherine Smith, Artistic Director P.O. Box 48087 Washington, D.C 20002 301.909-VCDE (8233) www.visioncontemporarydance.org Urban Artisty Junious Brickhouse (Founder) 8001 Kennett Street Silver Spring, MD 20910 202-431-4202 www.urbanartistry.org The National Hand Dance Association P.O. Box 70006 Washington, D.C. 20024 www.nationalhanddanceassociation.org

World Dance Companies D.C Contemporary Dance Theatre Miya Hisaka, Founding Artistic Director P.O.Box 9796 Washington, D.C 20016 202-316-5277 www.teatrodedanza.org Furia Flamenco Estela Velez ( Director) Joy of Motion Dance Center 5207 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington, D.C 20015 (703) 568-4404 www.furia-flamenca.com Jayamangala 8600 Waterside Ct, Laurel, MD 20723 (301) 617-2712 www.jayamangala.org Maru Montero Dance Maru Montero, Founder admin@marumontero.com www.marumontero.com Nomad Dancers Christel Stevens( Co Director) Adriane Whalen (Co Director) 4166 South Street, Arlington, Va, 22206 (703) 799-0282 www.nomaddancers.com Silk Road Dance Compay Dr. Laurel Victoria Gray, Founder and Artistic Director P.O. Box 11346 Takoma Park, MD 20913 301-585-1105 www.silkroaddance.com Tehreema Mitha Dance Founding Artistic Director 8509 Pelham Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817 (301) 581-9520 www.tmdancecompany.org

Community Directory Dance Schools and Institutions Angel of Hope Ministries, Inc Rev. Claudia H. Harrison Developing the Physical through Dance and Health Awareness www.angels-hope.org Coyaba Academy Sylvia Soumah, Founder and Artistic Director Dance Place 3225 8th Street Northeast Washington, D.C 20017 (202) 269-1600 www.coyabadancetheater.org Dance Dimensions Dakyia Lambert (Artistic Director) 7979 Parston Dr District Heights ,MD 20747 301-420-1567 www.dimensions-inc.com

Duke Ellington School of the Arts The Davis Center Charles Augins, Dance Chair 3500 R street NW , Washington, D.C 202-282-0123 www.ellingtonschool.org

Howard University Theatre Arts Dept - Dance 2400 Sixth St NW, Washington, D.C 20059 howarduniversitydancemajor@yahoo.com 202-806-7050/7052 www.coas.howard.edu/theatrearts/ dance Jones-Haywood Dance School Saundra Fortune-Green, Artistic Director 1200 Delafield Place NW Washington D.C 20011 202-441-1099 www.joneshaywood.com

Dance Institute of Washington Fabian Barnes, Founder and Artistic Director 3400 14th street NW, Washington, D.C 202-371-9656 www.danceinstitute.org

Making Moves Dance Collective Inc Amber L. Comer, Artistic Director Kellie N. Sellers, Artistic Director 5640 Sunnyside Avenue, Suite E Beltsville, MD 20705 301-220-1500 www.makingmovesdc.org

Dance Makers INC Ms. Robin Angelica Pitts, Executive Director 9901 Business Parkway, Suite L Lanham, Maryland 20706Â 301-731-0003 www.marylanddancestudio.com

Ngoma Center for Dance Shawn Short, Founding Artistic Director P.O. Box 2377 Washington D.C 20013 202-540-8338 www.ngoma-center-for-dance.org

District Dance Arts Cristine Davis, Director Classes held at the Capoeira Spot 2008 Rhode Island Ave NE Washington, DC 20018 www.districtdancearts.com

Northeast Performing Arts Center Rita Jackson (Founder) 3431 Benning Rd NE Washington, D.C 20019 202-388-1274 www.nepag.org

Divine Dance Institute Amanda Standard, Founding Director 505 Hampton Park Blvd., Suite R Capitol Heights, MD 20743 301-333-2623 www.divine-dance.com

Suitland High School Center for the Visual and Performing Arts 5200 Silver Hill Road Forestville, MD 20747 301.817.0092 www1.pgcps.org/suitlandhs

Beatrice E. Davis-Williams 6218 3rd Street N.W. Washington D.C 20011 202-277-6110 www.thedaviscenter.net Ubuntu Nankama Dance Studio 3802Â 34th Street, Mt Rainier, MD 20722 Words, Beats, & Life Inc. 1525 Newton Street, NW Washington, D.C 20010 202-667-1192 www.wblinc.org Baltimore Area Morton Street Dance Donna L. Jacobs, 3600 Clipper Mill Road, Ste. 108 Baltimore, MD 21211 410-235-9003 www.mortonstreetdance.com Baltimore Dance Tech Stephanie Powell, Director, 5130 Greenwich Avenue (Near Route 40 West) Baltimore, MD 21229 410-233-1101 www.baltimoredancetech.com Connexions School for the Arts 2801 N. Dukeland Street Baltimore, MD 21216 Phone:(443) 984-1418/1419/1420 Fax:(410) 669-4418 www.csfta.org Dance & Bmore Cjay Philip, Director danceandbmore@gmail.com www.danceandbmore.com Coppin State University Vanessa Coles, Chair - Dance Physical Education Complex Rm 212 2500 West North Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21216-3698 dance@coppin.edu www.coppin.edu/dance 23

Services: Standard 60-Min Deep Tissue Massage $120 Standard 60-Min Swedish Massage $100 High Quality-70 min Deep Tissue Massage $125​ High Quality-70 min Swedish Massage $125

Spa Add Ons: Hot Stone $10 30 min Add On ONLY $40 Extra

RH BodyWorks is a luxury mobile spa massage therapy service that offers the most relaxing treatments in the ​D.C., Maryland and Virginia area.

RH BODYWORKS 240-462-9954 rhfitnessfactor90@gmail.com www.rhbodyworks.com Official Massage Therapist of Dissonance Dance Theatre 24

Ngoma Reader is looking for committed, and enthusiastic writers to join its team. Is that you?

Are You Flexible?

Ngoma Center for Dance

The Ngoma Reader (NR) is a bi-monthly online publication that gives literary voice to the minority dance artists of Washington, D.C.

Internships Experience the thrill and rewards of working in Ngoma Center for Dance and its programs! Whether you’re a high school student looking for summer employment, or a college or graduate student seeking a substantive internship supporting the arts in D.C., there’s no limit as to how far our opportunities can take you. At Ngoma Center for Dance, you’ll have the opportunity to gain insight into a budding dance organization, explore new career avenues and acquire lifelong skills.

Our two programs, (1) Production, and (2) Administration, enable students to obtain job experience in a in the theatre and in the back office.

The opportunities are endless—and they all start right here. Begin by finding out which program is right for you, or speaking with our director about an internship with Ngoma Center for Dance and its programs. Contact Shawn Short, Director at sshort@ngoma-center-for-dance.org for more information. Check out more at www.careersushi.com/ngomacenterfordance Ngoma Reader is looking for committed, and enthusiastic writers and photographers to join its team. Is that you?

The Ngoma Reader (NR) is a bi-monthly online publication that gives literary voice to the dance artists of Washington, D.C. QUALIFICATIONS: Current major/Interest in Journalism, Communications, dance, or English Strong news judgment Quick and accurate editing/writing skills Thorough attention to detail Knowledgeable in the local DMV dance scene and/or other arts-related events The ability to multi-task with little-to-no supervision

A strong work ethic and motivation to succeed A positive, good-natured, energetic attitude A commitment to unbiased writing Knowledgeable of AP Style guidelines

Interested writers send your writing sample and resume to: NRmagazine@ngoma-center-for-dance.org (In the subject line type: Potential Writer for NR Magazine) WWW.NGOMAREADER.ORG WWW.NGOMA-CENTER-FOR-DANCE.ORG

25

Ngoma R eader Washington, D.C.’s Dance Magazine

(c) Copyright Ngoma Reader 2016 All Rights Reserved 26