Winter Workshop Showing
Saturday, December 14, 2024
The VIVA School
Photo Credit: Keon Green
ABOUT THE VIVA SCHOOL
Transforming the field of dance through excellence in dance education and a commitment to centering young dancers of color
The VIVA School of Dance is a haven for naturally gifted students to fearlessly nurture their talents in community with others who see their limitless potential.
Located in Washington, DC, the school centers young dancers of color, ages 6-18, in a progressive model of dance education that merges world-class training and leadership development to cultivate the creative leaders of tomorrow. Supported by a community of artists, educators and advocates, our young artists develop as brilliant movers and distinct thinkers gaining acceptance into the nation’s top collegiate dance programs and conservatories. The VIVA School stands apart as a full-merit scholarship program.
Photo Credit: LeVern Danley
the giving name
Choreographer: Marcella Lewis
Music: I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a ‘Rap’ Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time” by Andre 3000, Underwaterfall by Bear Clubs
Performers: Mudiwa Mandichera Hargrove, Casey Hart, Simone Pair, Chloe Payne, Selah Quinn, Alanna Rivas-Rogers, Kami Rivas-Rogers, Khaleel Smith, Salaam Williams
PROGRAM ABOUT WINTER WORKSHOP
The Winter Workshop at The VIVA School is a week-long creative residency that immerses our young artists in the professional choreographic process. Working with a guest choreographer, students experiment, develop and shape new work. On the final day, the studio doors open to an intimate audience for a one-hour “first look” at the work-in-progress, and our young performers, resident choreographer, and audience members engage in creative inquiry and dialogue about the choreographic process and artistic creation. The conversation is facilitated by Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Chandini Darby.
The work-in-progress, the giving name, will premiere this spring at The VIVA School’s Annual Concert on May 2 & 3, 2025 at Atlas Performing Arts Center.
FEATURED CHOREOGRAPHERS
Marcella Lewis hails from Los Angeles, CA, where she began her dance training at the Lula Washington Dance Theatre. She then continued her studies at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts(LACHSA). She later received her BFA from the Purchase Conservatory of Dance in 2016, where she was awarded the Adopt-A-Dancer Scholarship. She joined A.I.M by Kyle Abraham in fall 2016, as a dancer, soloist, and company liaison. While with A.I.M, Marcella performed works by Kyle Abraham, Trisha Brown, Doug Varone and Andrea Miller and was a rehearsal assistant for Kyle Abraham with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre’s “Untitled America”, New York City Ballet’s “The Runaway” and Misty Copeland’s “Ash.” Marcella was featured with A.I.M in “Dance Magazine” in August 2017 and was mentioned in the “New York Times” for A.I.M’s Joyce season in May 2018. In 2018 Marcella became a recipient of the 2018 Princess Grace Award in Dance. As a freelance artist, Marcella has performed works by Micaela G. Taylor, Chris Emile, Marjoni Forte, JA Collective, Jodi Melnick and Genna Moroni. Marcella has choreographed and performed her movement solo installation called “Movement Transference” as a part of Institute of Contemporary Arts Los Angeles “Infinite Rehearsal.” Marcella has also presented her own choreographic work Spectacle of Ritual at Dance Theatre Lab (Purchase, New York), Odyssey Theatre(Los Angeles), Highways Performance Space(Santa Monica) and Stomping Ground L.A. She has also created work on Windward Middle School, presented at JAMS performing arts and Loyola Marymount University’s senior class, presented at Strub Theatre. In addition, Marcella is a dance educator and has taught at Juilliard, USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and Loyola Marymount University. Furthermore, Ms. Lewis has dabbled in the commercial world as an assistant choreographer and dancer in Hailey Bailey music video “Angel and was the star in Theo Crooker’s music video, “TO BE WE” ft. Jill Scott. Marcella was a featured artist in SHOUTLA magazine’s “Local Stories” in May of this year. Marcella is currently a performing artist with TRIBE multidisciplinary visual performances led by artistic director and choreographer Shamel Pitts and is a freelance artist, choreographer and dance educator in Los Angeles and New York.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Chandini Darby, native of Washington, DC, is a dancer, actress, choreographer, educator, mentor and artistic coach. She is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of The VIVA School, a dance school in Washington, DC that prioritizes young dancers of color, merging world-class dance training with leadership development to cultivate the creative leaders of tomorrow.
Ms. Darby began her dance training at the DC Youth Ensemble under the direction of Carol Foster and continued her training at Spirit Wings Dance Company under the direction of Dr. Sandy A. Mitchell. She is a 2007 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Towson University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and a recipient of the Washington Post Music and Dance award in Dance Scholarship. Her professional credits include: Lula Washington Dance Theatre, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Washington Reflections Dance Company, DC Contemporary Dance Theatre and Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance. Ms. Darby is a certified Progressive Ballet Technique Instructor, serves on the advisory board of Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance, and is the founder of The Beauty for Ashes Project, a dance performance company committed to uplifting unpopular stories. Her choreographic work has been commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Dance Metro DC, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and Arena Stage. In 2017, Ms. Darby premiered her dance film Hair Like Fall, which explores the relationship between black women and hair, journeying through themes around invisibility, cultural identity and self-discovery. Hair Like Fall was presented at the Every Woman Biennial Film Festival in NYC and the DC Black Theatre and Arts Festival in Washington, DC.
Ms. Darby now resides in Annapolis, MD with her husband and two children. She is committed to inspiring a new generation of creative thought leaders and the shift of social paradigms through the intersection of dance education and performance art.
THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS
We extend special appreciation to the corporations, foundations, government agencies and individuals that have provided generous financial support to The VIVA School and our barrier-breaking initiatives to pioneer a new model of equity in the arts.
CORPORATE SPONSORS
Amazon ArentFox Schiff
B&M Steel
Ballast Research
Bank of America
BSA
Capri Investment Group
CityFirst Bank
Cornerstone Government Affairs
D&P Creative Strategies
English Hudson Consulting
Entertainment Software Association
Graham Holdings Company
IGC Pharma
Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
LAX Wine and Spirits
Lee’s Flower and Card Shop, Inc.
Microsoft Monument Advocacy
National Football League
Pepco
Precision Strategies
Ropes & Gray
Stewart Strategies & Solutions
Tiber Creek Group
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
Uber
United Airlines
Washington Gas, an Exelon Company
WestExec Advisors
Wiley
FOUNDATIONS & GOVERNMENT
Barbara Epstein Foundation Bender Foundation, Inc.
Clark-Winchcole Foundation
Community Foundation for the National Capital Region/Arts Forward
Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation
Dallas Coors Morse Foundation for the Performing Arts
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
DC Housing Finance Agency
Dimick Foundation Events DC Fight For Children
Fund II Foundation
George Preston Marshall Foundation
John Edward Fowler Memorial Foundation
Learn24
Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation
Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Philip L. Graham Fund
S&R Evermay
Share Fund
The Miller and Chevalier Charitable Foundation
Venable Foundation
INDIVIDUALS
Aaron Byrd
Adolfo Matto Traverso
Agyei Hargrove
Albert Hicks, MD
Alethia Hughes
Alexe Nowakowski and Kevin Roots
Alicia Schreder
Alison and John Shulman
Amber DuBose
Amy Lear
Anastasia Johnson
Andrea Messina
Andrea Syphax
Angela Stribling and Ken Washington
Angelica Jackson
Ann and Tom Friedman
Anne Lantry
Anne Patterson
Anton Wilson
April Delaney
Ariel Meredith
Arlene Williams
Asha Disu
Barbara Shields
Barbara Silverman
Betsy and John Geise
Betsy Astolfi
Bonaventure Akinlosotu Jr
Bonnie Hammerschlag
Brandon Todd
Brian Stewart
Bruce Blayblock
Camden Miller
Candice Bristow
Carla Labat
Carl M. Freeman Foundation
Carol and Tom Wheeler
Caroline Croft
Carolyn Simmerman
Carsen Smith
Cary and Andrew Umhau
Catherine and David Pickar
Catherine Squires
Causha and Andre Brunette
Cecilia Royster
Charles and Latarsha Carithers
Charmaine Dittmar and David Gang
Chase Rynd
Cherlyn Freeman-Watkins
Cheryl Randall Thomas
Cindy Aron
Clare Cushman
Cliff and Debbie White
Colin and Angie Shah
Congressman Donald S. Beyer Jr. and
Mrs. Megan Beyer
Craig Pascal
Crystal Harris
Dana Roane
Dana W. and Robert G. Hisaoka
Dania Fitzgerald
Daren Thomas
Darlene Byrd
Darryl Hall
David Fensterheim and Julie Hoffman
David Sternblitz
David Wheadon
Deb Adams
Debbi Galiber
Deborah Lebbin
Deborah Smith
Dedra Owens
Delbert Wilber
Delicia Gunn
Denise Rollins
Denise Williams
Dolly Turner
Don Braden
Donna and Bruce Genderson
Donna Cooper
Donna Eacho
Doris Brown
Dr. Danelle Dickson, PT, DPT
Dr. Michelle Loewinger and Ambassador Howard Gutman
Eden Rafshoon
Elana Denise Anderson, PhD
Elizabeth Bagley and
Conor Reynolds Bagley
Elizabeth Corro
Elizabeth Stevens
Elkin Wasserman Family Foundation
Ella Fathi
Emily Spitzer and Eric Lewis
Emma Fensterheim
Emmy Torruellas
Eve A. Lilley
Florence and Ethan Dmitrovsky
Gail Schonfeld
Gamze and Greg Blakey
Gloria Nauden
Grace and Daniel Melrod
Gracie Kreth
Grant Epstein and Lynn Hackney
Gregory Craig
Gretchen B. Wharton
Heather Weaver
Hillary Baltimore
Holden Schmidt
Honorable Ann Brown Imani Bowman
Jaclynne White Nnawuchi
Jacqueline Neal
Jaime and Pilar Aleman
James Pair
Jamie J. Thompson
Jane Brown
Jane Ottenberg and Richard Creighton
Jason Thompson
Jeanette Conrad-Ellis
Jean-Marie and Raul Fernandez
Jeanne and Mark Shriver
Jeanne L. Specchio
Jeffrey Slavin
Jeff Stoiber
Jennifer Hara
Je’Cole Cole
Joan E. Kane
Jodie McLean
John Jones and Kim Dustin
John Sonnier
Jose Alberto Ucles
Joseph E. Robert Jr. Charitable Trust
JP and Kelli Quinn
Julia Vasilj
Karen and Bill Sonneborn
Karen and George Marcou
Karen Harmon
Karen Thomas
Karida Green
Karin Gross
Karyn Greenfield
Katharine Weymouth
Katherine and David Bradley
Kay Kendall and Jack Davies
Kim and Fred Humphries
Kim and Gerry Mayfield
Kim and Rewi Thompson
Kimberley and Victor Gilchrist
Kimberly and Pedro Alfonso
Kim Samuel
Kira Daniel
Kristen Randolph
Kristin Allstadt
Lauren and Devin Talbott
LaVern Miles
Leigh Sims
Lia Walker
Lillian Cammack
Linda And Clay Anderson
Linda Potter and Tim Shriver
Lisa Arning Mayer
Lisa Barry
Lisa Siegel
Lita Rosario-Richardson
Lorna Potter Walker
Louise Ross
Lynn Cameon Neifeld
Malini Jadeja
Marcy and Neil Cohen
Margaret and Gilbert DeLorme
Margaux Hall
Margot Stephenson-Crawford
Marguerite Bailey Graham and William Graham
Maria Murphy
Marie Sippel
Mario Johnson
Mark and Linda Earley Chastang
Mark and Lynne McFadden
Marlene Moss
Martiena Schneller and Thomas Seid
Mary Williams
Maygn Wells-Akoto
Melissa and Jason Burnett
Meryl Silverman
Michele Blackwell
Mignon Clyburn
Missy Reingruber
Molly Hock
Monique Waters Mosunmoluwa Hamilton-Samuel
Mr. and Mrs. Unmesh P. Sheth
Mychelle Jackson
Nadine Horenstein
Narda Newby
Nicole Cammack
Olivia Donaldson
Omar Newland
Pamela and Dick Sauber
Pamela Reese Parveen and Ram Mukunda
Patrice Brickman
Patrice Willoughby
Patricia Friedman and Blair Levin
Paula Sweeney
Peggy Sparks
Peter Shields and Ace Werner
Rachel Moore Weller
Rebecca Milliken
Rebecca Rivas Rogers and Antonio Rivas
Reginald Van Lee
Remel Roberts
Riley Torbeck
Rochelle Zeidman
Ruth Sorenson and Family
S&R Evermay
Sabra Horne
Sara and Chris Lange
Sara Conrad
Sarah Adams
Sarah Meeker Jensen
Sarina Singh
Serra Sippel and David Grosso
Seth Goldman and Julie Farkas
Shaniece James
Sharde Marchewski
Shawnita Pair
Sherry Bindeman and David Khan
Stacy StephanieBurnette and Darren Linnartz
Stephen and Liz Whisnant
Steven Torbeck
Susan and Dixon Butler
Susan Burt and Dr. Robert Woolfitt
Susan Leigh
Susan Rappaport
The Collis/Warner Foundation, Inc.
The Green Fund
The Robert & Mary Haft Foundation, Inc.
Tomisin Okanlawon
David Nolan
Tommie L. Robinson Jr.
Victoria Lawford
Victoria Murray Baatin and Rahsan Baatin
Vincent McCall
Willee and Finlay Lewis
William and Cynthia Kelly
William Tucker
Winona Lake Massie
Xiomara Metcalfe
Yasiman Montgomery
Yolanda and Dale Jones
Yolanda Holmes
PARTNERS
Community Partner of the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Laurel Springs School
Performance Plus Physical Therapy
TDA Prep
If you notice an error in a listing, or would like to learn more about supporting The VIVA School, please contact Tobi Okanlawon at tobi@thevivaschool.org or (202) 506-7252.
STAFF
Chandini Darby, Co-Founder, Artistic Director
Kelli Quinn, Co-Founder, Executive Director
Jamison Curcio, Student Development Coordinator
Rian Matthews, Director of Operations
