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Social Movement Contemporary Dance Theater presents work to diverse audiences that
reflects the historical impact of social inequities on contemporary social ideas and values.
“I think it is important to share our experiences; only then can we begin to understand each other. I am a storyteller at heart, and passionate about presenting work that addresses the human condition.” Artistic Director Elijah Alhadji Gibson

Blake Daniels

Blake Daniels

Black Daniels

Blake Daniels
1/3
In Syndication (2022)
Brings awareness to the realities for people who live with depression, in addition to the danger that lies in its many myths and misconceptions.

Kevin Schuster

Kevin Schuster

Kevin Schuster

Kevin Schuster
1/3
We the People (2021)
What happens when the world's harsh truths interrupt people’s daily lives and they respond by demanding change?

Chris Sanchez

Chris Sanchez

Chris Sanchez

Chris Sanchez
1/3
The Culture (2021)
"The Culture" honors the lineage of Hip Hopthrough expression of its five pillars -- breakdancing, MCing, DJing, graffiti, and knowledge - to spread the message of equality.

Claudia Casbarian

Claudia Casbarian

Claudia Casbarian

Claudia Casbarian
1/3
Mi Champeta (2019)
Born into a royal family that ruled what is today Guinea-Bissau, Benkos Biohó was seized by the Portuguese slave trader Pedro Gomes Reinel, sold into slavery, then transported to what is now Colombia in South America. After many escapes, he along with ten others, founded San Basilio also known as the “Village of the maroons”. The village of Palenque (walled city) de San Basilio, located in the foothills of the Montes de María southeast of Cartagena, is one
of many Palenques that existed in the seventeenth century that served as a refuge for escaped slaves. San Basilio was home to the first free Africans in the Americas and many other famous Afro-Colombians, as well as the rich traditions that are embedded within Colombian
culture.
Champeta, a music and folk dance that originated among inhabitants of African descent of the Colombian city of Carta-gena De Indias, is linked with the culture of the Palenque of San Basilio. The word “champeta” originally denoted a short, curved knife, and in the 1920s started to be applied to residents outlying the districts of Cartagena, who were poor and of African descent. In the 1970s it was used to identify a dance and then a musical genre in the 1980s. The conception of champeta includes four central aspects: musical expression, the distinctive language, the loudspeakers (picós), and celebrations (perreos).
Race and ethnicity in Colombia descend mainly from three racial groups: Amer-indians (native indigenous), Africans, and Caucasian (White Colombians also descended from Spanish, Lebanese, and Syrian peoples) that have mingled throughout the last 500 years. Demographers describe Colombia as one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the Western Hemisphere and in the world, with 85 different ethnic groups.
With Champeta permeating through Colombian culture over the years, it has taken on other forms of expression, such as dance, political activism, costume, and literature. Lyrics often display the rebellious attitude of challenging social and economic exclusion or relate to dreams of change and progress. In addition, Champeta culture has become better-known in Colombia due to the develop-ment of complex dances set to the rhythms of salsa, jibaro, and reggae.

Reconstruct (2017)
reconstruct |ˌrēkənˈstrəkt| verb [with object] build or form (something) again after it has been damaged or destroyed:
* We need to spend our creative energy building a new system not propping up the one we live in now. – Tynesha M

Lynn Lane

Lynn Lane

Lynn Lane

Lynn Lane
1/3
Before and After (2009)
"There is not love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love".
-Bryan H. Mcgill
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