2021 was a year that challenged our communities in unimaginable ways. Despite this, the Atlanta dance and movement arts community demonstrated their capacity for resilience and persevered by creating meaningful work and achieving milestones both career and personal. DanceATL would like to acknowledge those accomplishments throughout this past year as part of our Applause Board initiative, which collects submissions from the community year round.
Part of our mission as an organization is to provide support for artists in the community, and to celebrate their wins, big and small. We will continue to take applause board submissions for the upcoming year and publish another end-of-year Applause Board issue to celebrate the achievements of 2022.
Spring
Into the Proscenium was established. They covered press releases, previews, and reviews of many Atlanta dance artists and organizations, including DanceATL!
Dance Hub ATL was chosen among 70 proposals from the Atlanta community to become a resident of the Hambidge Cross-Pollination Art Lab, curated by Hambidge Center in partnership with Rubenstein Partners and Uptown Atlanta with funding from Lubo Fund and Fulton County Arts and Culture.
DanceATL received its 501(c)(3) status and celebrated our 2nd “birthday” in May of this year. We look forward to many more!
Leo Briggs and Frankie Mulinix had the opportunity to share their work from our A.M. Collaborative program with a live audience at the Spring for Spring Dance Festival.
Spring interns Rose Sebaugh, Stephanie Weis, and Lane Pigford had a fantastic semester! They helped start the Remembrance In Memoriam, grant toolkit, member management, and assisted in executing the A.M. Collaborative taste showcase.
On May 15, Bautanzt Here and collaborators Frankie Mulinix (Vandellous), Dima Alekseyev and Katya Kouznetsova, presented a site-specific version of the Hollow Bones, installation and performance piece. This became a start for expanding this work. New version for 3 performers will be performed in spring, 2022 as part of Art on the Atlanta Beltline 2021 – 2022.
Summer
Angelina Pellini is a dancer and a beloved stage manager for many dance companies in Atlanta. She recently relocated to work for Ballet West in Utah. Be sure to check out an in-depth article about her here.
Catherine Messina is the creator of Fall for Fall and the Spring for Spring festivals, a teacher for many studios, and a dancer with Kit Modus. She has moved away from Atlanta to pursue graduate school in New York City.
Jessica Bertram recently premiered Our Hair Feels Like Flower Petals with multiple sold out shows. She also moved to Denver for graduate school at CU Boulder!
Jacob Lavoie is an avid DanceATL and community volunteer who completed his wildly successful show So long, Farewell, Goodbye. Jacob moved to New Hampshire this summer and has continued his artistry.
DanceATL welcomed Ansley Carr, Grace Getsinger, Katie Watkins, and Gabrielle Stearns to the intern team this summer. They did amazing work on the Turning Point, member management, Remembrance In Memoriam, and Promenade.
Tsaimbwom Akuchu accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of dance at California State University, Long Beach. He is now teaching hip-hop dance forms with an emphasis on the socio-cultural and historic context to the dances as Afro-diasporic performative traditions. He will also develop curriculum and work as the program coordinator for the hip-hop dance track while producing scholarship and creative work!
Hannah Myers has recently created a new website featuring her portfolio of past and present works. She looks forward to networking with more Atlanta artists of all mediums in hopes of future collaborative efforts. Check it out here.
Jacque Pritz and Tamara Irving participated in the ALMA workshop and presented their creative placemaking projects. Jacque’s team won the adjudicator’s award as well as the audience choice award.
Julie Galle Baggenstoss, part of the Writing Committee, was named DanceATL’s first Volunteer of the Month in May.
Loren McFalls is a volunteer with both our Community and Production committees. She was selected as DanceATL’s Volunteer of the Month for July. Thank you Loren, we appreciate all of your hard work!
Sammy Spriggs, Education & Mentorship committee chairperson, was DanceATL’s Volunteer of the Month for August! Sammy is also the program facilitator of A.M. Collaborative. Thank you, Sammy!
Rose Sebaugh served as the Lead Residential Advisor and Head Intern for Joffrey South and Joffrey Dallas/Joffrey Colorado Springs in the summer of 2021, which was her third consecutive summer season working with the Joffrey Ballet School. During the academic year, Rose studies as a Dance major at the University of Georgia and works on faculty at The Studio Athens. Rose is also studying Dietetics at the University of Georgia and hopes to work as a Dietician for dancers in the future.
Sue Schroeder has completed her role as board member and chair with DanceATL. She has supported DanceATL for years, secured operation funds, shared knowledge, and provided many free resources. Thank you for your service!
DanceATL has welcomed four new board members: Tamara Irving, Nate Snyder, Loren McFalls, and Julie Gomez. We are beyond thrilled to have these individuals on board with us!
Uprising Dance Company was founded in June 2021 by married couple Perlizbeth De Leon and EC Fajardo. As professional dancers, choreographers, and teachers, they saw the recent uprising of social issues in the media and wanted to take action with the expression they knew best. Uprising is a cohort of dancers from all around Atlanta coming together in a shared love of dance and social justice. By fusing styles from street dance and technical forms, UprisingDance Company explores motifs of unity, adversity, and rebellion against the norm. Most recently, they had their first performance at Fall for Fall Festival and will be performing their piece “Rise Together” one more time at Get Up and Dance Showcase created and hosted by Leah Boresow.
ALA Dance had its premiere show at the B-Complex this July. They sold out two nights and had a packed closing show!
Fall
George Staib was elected to the Dance/USA Board of Trustees in June of 2020. This November, he served the organization with a focus on programming and development. This includes, but is not limited to DEI work, navigating the fiscal crises many artists and arts organizations are facing, and elevating emerging artists to greater visibility.
Beth Del Nero‘s dance trapeze piece, “The Anxiety of Waiting”, which she choreographed at the height of Atlanta shelter-in-place was accepted into two virtual projects: The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs’ “Pandemic Atlanta” project and Modco’s “Quarantine Chronicles”.
Bautanzt Here had their first full length site-specific performance titled “Body Guarding,” and was honored to present it as a part of ELEVATE Atlanta Festival! Two performances and one encore were held at 54 Columns installation by Sol Lewitt. They’re happy to share that this work was reviewed by Into The Proscenium team, which was a very first review of the company’s work.
DanceATL welcomed Fall Interns Emma Dean, Emily Wilbourne, Grace Griffin, Kiera O’Reilly, Lexie Walker, and Rabia Kang, for Fall 2021. They had a fantastic hand in Promenade, Annual Report, website redesign, and this Applause Board!
Emma Dean completed a successful run of “Dance Alabama!,” a student choreographed show under the direction of the University of Alabama Dance faculty. Emma both choreographed and danced in this performance and she is also serving as the Vice President of Dance Alabama! This show was their first live performance after two years and showcased 25 student choreographed works.
For the third time in the span of a year, Catherine Messina wove together a beautifully diverse group of artists in Atlanta’s very own, one-of-a-kind outdoor dance festival, Fall for Fall. While many in the arts industry grappled with the unknown during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic in fall of 2020, Messina made the most of the given circumstances and gave back to the community in her own way. Messina’s work gave a voice to local choreographers and dance artists at a time when they needed it most.
Emily Wilbourne presented her research on Korean monk’s dance at “Tradition and Innovation in Korean Dance”, a forum at Elon University on October 28th. This research presentation will showcase the culmination of two years of mentored research completed by Emily, which included fieldwork, participant observation, and a series of interviews in Busan, South Korea. She will be joined at this event by performances and lecture demonstrations from fellow scholars and experts in Korean dance.
Leah Boresow Groover recently opened her own studio, Get Up and Dance!, in Atlanta. This studio aims to provide quality adult dance education for those in the Atlanta community.
Patton White, a volunteer with both DanceATL’s Community Engagement Committee and Archive Committee, was named September’s Volunteer of the Month! He facilitated both our Choreographer’s Guild event and Potluck Mixer event. Thank you, Patton!
Ellie Tsuchiya was named our Volunteer of the Month for October. She was a part of our Education & Mentorship Committee, and most recently volunteered her time and grant-writing skills to support our team. Thank you, Ellie!
Scott Wheet, our Production committee co-chair, was named November Volunteer of the Month! He was a great moderator at our Tech Talk workshop, Producing during the Era of COVID-19. Thank you, Scott!
In an evening filled with quiet introspection and promise, Profectus Dance premiered Pensive as its first full-length modern dance. The company, now in its second season, has seen enormous artistic growth this year. Olivia May, the artistic director and also choreographer of Pensive, has done a tasteful job of truly authenticating and honing in on her unique choreographic style. Pensive, comprised of four main sections of mixed solos, duets and group work, featured all nine dancers of this relatively new dance group.
Kerry Lee, Co-Artistic Director of Atlanta Chinese Dance Company, was selected as a mentee for the Dance/USA 2021 Institute for Leadership Training, where she is studying under a six month mentorship with Jawole Willa Jo Zollar!
Bautanzt here and collaborators Frankie Mulinix (Vandellous), Dima Alekseyev and Katya Kouznetsova are among artists participating in Art on the Atlanta Beltline 2021 – 2022! They’re expanding the work called Hollow Bones that was created in Dance Hub ATL, and then continued its journey in Piedmont Park and South River Arts Studios.
Peace One Day is an organization dedicated to creating more peace around the world, one day at a time. Through in-person and virtual ticket sales at the Peace Day 2021 Celebration, Can I Color Now Studios raised $405 to support the amazing work of Jeremy Gilley and Peace One Day. Held at the beautiful Aatma Dance Studio, this year’s event included live music, spoken word, and an inspiring range of dance pieces, including performances by Peace, Love, & Dance Project, Gwinnett Dance Project, and Cherish Dance.
Board Co-Chair Tamara Irving‘s blog was published in the National Dance Education Organization’s blog.
Zerina Serulle has been dancing in Atlanta for over 25 years, performed with several companies, is an avid class taker, and has taught multiple Martha Graham Techniques workshops in addition to being a local relator. We are excited to share that she recently moved to Paris, France to teach Martha Graham Technique at Paris Marais Dance School. We are cheering her on from Atlanta, and can’t wait to hear about all the wonderful things she is doing across the pond.
Bautanzt Here participated in the Dance Week celebration with Colony Square Mall and presented a pop-up site-specific performance on September 17th. They hope this will become a yearly tradition!
Winter
Atlanta’s first professional tap company, The Tap Rebels, is traveling to Dubai for Expo 2020 Dubai in February of next year. Going international is a huge step for the company! We wish them safe travels!
Atlanta Contemporary dance company, Core Dance, is now the head organization for Fieldwork Network. Through this endeavor, Core Dance will create a space for artists to connect and share their work.
Bautanzt Here and collaborators (Contemporary Art and Architecture Lab) became a part of Future Curious Encounters exhibition at 7 Stages Theatre!
Cynthia Bond Perry, a volunteer in our writing committee, is our December Volunteer of the Month. Thank you for all your help with Promenade and expanding dance writing in Atlanta!
Arts Entertainment Atlanta awarded a total of $100,000 to downtown Atlanta artists and organizations. Some of the recipients include dance artists and organizations: Bautanzt Here, Full Radius Dance, Onur Topal Sumer, Shoccara Marcus, and Assane Kouyate.
