Black Dance Stories & Amistad Research Center Announce Long-term Collaborative Partnership Preserving Access To Invaluable Digital Content |
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Charmaine Warren, the co-creator of Black Dance Stories. Credit: Tony Turner |
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Black Dance Stories and Amistad Research Center today announced their new collaborative partnership which will preserve and safeguard the web series’ vital digital content and make the episodes more easily available to the public through Amistad’s digital projects virtual archive.
Under the collaborative partnership, Black Dance Stories and Amistad Research Center will showcase the legacy of Black dance during Black History Month through highlighted clips from the extensive collection and throughout the year.
Conceived and co-created by Charmaine Warren in June 2020 the series showcases and initiates discussions with Black creatives. Alive and ever-vibrant from both the everyday and iconic, the conversations explore social, historical, and personal issues, and highlight the African Diaspora's humanity in the mysterious and celebrated dance world.
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Since its launch, Black Dance Stories has produced more than 45 episodes featuring over 80 of the most decorated Black dancers, choreographers, movement artists and others who use their work to raise societal issues and strengthen their community. In the spirit of Black Dance Stories’ mission, the new partnership reflects its continuing growth as a cultural presence, as well as the Amistad Research Center’s commitment to preserving the history, culture and stories of the African diaspora.
“We are thrilled to embark on this new chapter of Black Dance Stories with the Amistad Research Center. Together we are cultivating a rich, meaningful, and sustained cultural dialogue in the dance world’s field of history, and Black voices with exciting perspectives are joining that conversation,” said Black Dance Stories co-creator Charmaine Warren. “Our mission in partnering with the Center is to give voice to those stories while providing authentic representation and inspiration to transformative growth for Black people, Black creatives, and Black artists everywhere. To develop such a unique partnership with a mecca of Black and African Diasporic history is a significant step for BDS and its community.”
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Members of the Black Dance Stories team; front row, from left, Makeda Smith, Warren, Kimani Fowlin and Makeda Roney; back, from left, Tony Turner, Gabriel-Lee Dekoladenu and Renee Redding-Jones, not pictured Cynthia Tate and Camille Lawrence. Credit: Tony Turner
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The partnership between Black Dance Stories and Amistad Research Center was orchestrated by Executive Director of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) Olga Garay-English and visionary arts leader Colleen Jennings-Roggensack.
“It was a match made in heaven,” reflected Olga Garay-English. “I met Charmaine Warren decades ago when she was part of David Roussève / REALITY, a highly regarded contemporary dance company I had the pleasure of presenting in Miami. And I met Kara Olidge more recently as a fellow Board member of the South Arts Regional Arts Organization. Kara talked to me about wanting more archival documentation on the arts experience, and I knew it was kismet—the two of them should meet. A few weeks later, we had a Zoom call with Charmaine and other Black Dance Stories leaders to explore the possibility of archiving that body of work at Amistad.”
“Amistad Research Center’s distinguished reputation for telling the story of America makes it the perfect place to honor these invaluable stories. Black Dance Stories is pivotal to our nations’ cultural education, history and path making forward. Charmaine Warren has carefully curated the histories of Black choreographers and those who have been in service of their art. This national treasure will be made available to students, young artists, educators, writers, historians, and all people around the globe.” said Colleen Jennings-Roggensack.
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"We are honored to serve a program partner and the repository for this outstanding collection. Black Dance Stories offers a rare opportunity to engage with the Black creative process in movement. These stories contribute to the wonderful holdings we have in Black theater, literary arts and visual art" said Executive Director of Amistad Kara Olidge.
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Kara Olidge, Executive Director of Amistad Research Center |
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