Awards and Auditions

Bowen McCauley Dance Receives Board Leadership Award

Bowen McCauley Dance was recently recognized by the Center for Nonprofit Advancement as the 2013 winner of the Board Leadership Award. Bowen McCauley Dance will receive a $10,000 grant; communication exposure through print, radio, television and social media; and training and development opportunities for the board and CEO from BoardSource and through the Center’s Learning & Leadership Institute. The Award Selection Committee noted the board’s commitment to mission in management decisions, board training and financial practices in their award selection in the under $2 million budget category.

Taurus Broadhurst Dance Holds Auditions

Taurus Broadhurst Dance (TBD) is holding auditions for the 2013-2014 season.  TBD is seeking a multi-generational, multi-ethnic cast of male and female dancers, age 18 and older, who are highly proficient in African, hip hop, modern, and ballet.  Opportunities for paid performances will be available during the season. Auditions will be held on Saturday, September 7th at Joy of Motion Dance Center Atlas, 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC 20002.  Sign-in begins at 4:00 p.m., and auditions begin promptly at 4:30 p.m. By Thursday, September 5th, please submit your resume (with links to relevant footage) to sarah@taurusbroadhurstdance.com.

Taurus Broadhurst Dance combines the wide-ranging currents of African Diaspora cultures in order to create a contemporary African aesthetic. The choreography is grounded in traditional West African dance and fuses movement from modern dance, house, and hip hop to convey diverse, contemporary stories and to embody the griot tradition through movement. To get a feel for the movement and choreography, attend Taurus Broadhurst’s Contemporary African class, Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. at Joy of Motion Dance Center Atlas.

@BMDCdance, #GladeGala and #EALS2013

I joined Twitter as @dance_DC around the same time I started this blog. I thought it would be a great way to promote my blog posts and build a following. Being active on Twitter has definitely helped drive traffic to danceDC; but more importantly, it has connected me to so many amazingly talented dancers, choreographers and arts administrators in the DC area. Twitter is an amazing way to network and I was reminded of its power this past weekend.

Bowen McCauley Dance at The Kennedy Center

Photo courtesy of Bowen McCauley Dance

I first discovered Bowen McCauley Dance through Twitter. Although they don’t have the largest following and tweet only a few times a month, I somehow came across them and added them to my DANCE list. I saw them for the first time last Friday night at The Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater with my friend Angella Foster, Artistic Director of alight dance theater. The night started out with Before The Fall, a playful piece featuring students from the Maryland Youth Ballet. I thought there should have been some kind of program note so the audience was aware that the dancers were not company members, but luckily Amy Fitterer of Dance/USA came out after the piece to let us know. It didn’t bother me that the students performed. They were great, but I was upset at some of the audience members who left after the brief pause following the piece. I assume they were parents of the performers. If so, shame on you! If not, I apologize for silently judging you while you went for a bathroom break. But I digress… What I really want to talk about is the electrifying energy of Lucy Bowen McCauley, who performed the role of “Cleopatra” in Fire and Air. She was the most captivating part of the show, grabbing the audience’s attention with her fluid movement and passionate expressions. It takes a special person to make suicide look sultry, but somehow Lucy accomplished that. Angella was also a fan of McCauley’s Le Sacre Du Printemps which closed the show. It was choreographically the most interesting, according to Angella. For more information about Bowen McCauley Dance, please visit their website or read Sarah Halzack’s review in The Washington Post.

Glade Dance Collective’s Gala at The Goethe Institut

I was happy to support Glade Dance Collective at their gala Saturday night. The event featured live reggae music, a short performance from Glade dancers and an interactive “nook” where attendees could answer various questions. The answers, some of which were recorded on video, will be integrated into a future Glade piece. Although I would have eventually discovered Glade through my job at Joy of Motion Dance Center (they rehearse at our space and Artistic Director Sylvana Christopher teaches at JOMDC), I first found out about them through Emma Joan Dozier – an active tweeter and Glade dancer/marketer. Emma and company did a fabulous job promoting the event. They had an excellent turnout and threw a fantastic party. Plus, props for having Philippa Hughes of Pinkline Project introduce the company before your performance!

Karen Brooks Hopkins of BAM was the opening keynote speaker of EALS 2013.

Emerging Arts Leaders Symposium at the Katzen Arts Center

This is the third year I’ve attended the Emerging Arts Leaders Symposium, an annual meeting for young professionals who work in the arts. The event is organized by students of American University’s Arts Management Program and features leaders in the industry like JR Russ of Class Acts Arts and Dance Place! I was live tweeting for most of the event on Sunday, so check out the conversation by searching #EALS2013. Below are some of my tweets/key takeaways from the day. I attended the opening keynote featuring Karen Brooks Hopkins of BAM, the Marketing Trends for Today’s Organization panel and the Audience Engagement panel.

• From the Audience Engagement panel in regards to the importance of having a social media strategy: Point made again in this panel! “Don’t have an intern handle your social media.” – @allihouseworth #EALS2013
• From the Marketing Trends panel in regards to the importance of community advocates: Research ur audience, find out where they are and find the leader of that group to help sell your service/program. – @jenbuzzell #EALS2013
• From the Opening Keynote in regards to writing proposals: When writing a proposal, think about what makes the program great. That’s what you have to communicate. – KBH of BAM #EALS2013