DANCE MATTERS: Body and Community

2022 OhioDance Festival and Conference
Dance Matters: Body and Community
April 29-May 1, 2022
Co-Sponsored by The Ohio State University, Department of Dance, Columbus Ohio 43210
In-Person events will take place at the OSU Dance Studios and Barnett Theatre, with some sessions live streamed

The guest artist Tamara Williams is assistant professor of dance, UNC Charlotte. Tamara and Moving Spirits, Inc. company members Kendra J. Ross and Monique LeFlore will offer an interactive experience. Tamara Williams’ choreography has been performed nationally and internationally including Serbia, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Mexico and in Brazil. In 2011, Williams created Moving Spirits, Inc., a contemporary arts organization dedicated to performing, researching, documenting, cultivating, and producing arts of the African Diaspora. Williams’ book, Giving Life to Movement (2021, McFarland Publishing Co.), analyzes African-Brazilian dance histories and cultures. She has created several community programs in New York City and Charlotte, NC providing opportunities for underserved communities to learn and practice dances of the African diaspora; histories and cultures which are strategically neglected in US education systems.
Moving Spirits, Inc. is a contemporary arts organization dedicated to performing, researching, documenting, cultivating, and producing arts of the African diaspora. Africanistic aesthetics heavily influences our company’s repertory. Our work blends modern, ballet, African diaspora dance forms, and contemporary West African dances. We believe that the creative arts should be used as a vehicle to bring awareness to injustices and obstacles impacting our communities. Moving Spirits’ artists dedicate themselves to evolving social change through dance performances and community engagement.

The theme of the conference is Body and Community. A sense of community unites us. It can give us opportunities to connect with people, and be part of something greater than ourselves. There is a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. The theme also addresses the work that dance artists and educators do to reach out to the communities they live, learn, work, play in, and beyond.

2022 Festival Guest Artist Highlights

2022 Festival Session Highlights

Friday, April 29, 2022 Professional Concert Choreographers: Elizabeth Cozad-Howard, James Shannon Filmore, Adriana Flamenco, Oyo Dance Company, Amy Jones, Kelsey Lee, Chloe Napoletano and Sarah Ramey, Kora Radella, Elizabeth Ramsey, and Ben Roach.

Saturday, April 30, 2022 Professional Concert Choreographers: Nai-Ni Chen, Dancing Wheels; Lisa Ford Moulton, Kara Komarnitsky, Catherine Meredith, Jonathan Pattiwael, Kieron Sargeant, Mojuba Dance Collective; Quentin Sledge, and guest artist Tamara Williams, Moving Spirits, Inc.

Pre-Professional Concert

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