NOW ACCEPTING PROPOSALS FOR NEW WAVES! 2023 ARTIST RESIDENCIES IN TRINIDAD & TOBAGO. APPLY NOW!
ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE
Since 2010, The Dance & Performance Institute’s Artist in Residence Program has hosted artists from around the world who have engaged in the performance, study, research, teaching, and experimentation of movement and ideas of particular resonance to Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. The breadth of these residencies guide the spirit of the Institute as a site “where vital conversations on the body, movement, cultural production, hybridity and diaspora could be had; where dominant discourses on art and culture could be challenged and where new progressive languages could be spoken”.
2022 ARTIST IN RESIDENCE - mx oops - "UnFiNiShEd aNiMaL"
MX Oops is a multimedia performance artist and educator whose work centers hybridity, encouraging ecstatic disobedience as a path toward embodied wellness. Their vision is of a world where we can each be held in the fullness of our complexity. The party is the point of departure, a queer site of transnational Afro-diasporic imagining. Through dance, video design, costume, rap, and guided meditation, their work questions whether consciousness itself is the primary medium. They are currently an Assistant Professor of Dance, Multimedia Performance, and Somatic Studies in the Department of Music, Multimedia, Theatre, and Dance at Lehman College, City University of New York, USA. [www.mxoops.com]
“UnFiNiShEd aNiMaL", is a visceral, kinetic, urgently utopian space where joy is currency. This piece tells the story of humanity coming to grips with our collective inheritance, a ramshackle meshwork of cognitive processes evolved to survive, not for self-awareness. What if our global crises are caused in large part by this major ‘design issue’ of human consciousness? My body-centered interdisciplinary practice explores this design dynamic in the nervous system through multimedia performance. The substructure of my conceptual web is sacred knowledge held in the collective memory of the Black Atlantic, or as Erik Davis expanded this notion, the Black Electronic. The Black Electronic draws a connection between the simultaneity of polyrhythmic drumming to the simultaneity of cyberspace, mapping a digital diaspora. Hip-hop and its sister traditions of electronic dance music are an analog bridge for communally held knowledge before and after the digital age. My questions about how sacred knowledge of liberatory Black praxis expanded through hip hop’s global reach are the same questions that keep bringing me back to Trinidad. What can be learned by comparing Black ecstatic aesthetics? What connections are there to be made between these liberatory practices of Afro-Caribbean aesthetic resistance? UnFiNiShEd aNiMaL asks—can the speculative sensory approach found in the combined practices of the Black Electronic be a design solution for a humanity in desperate need for an upgrade to our metacognitive skill set?” Let's Dance!
2022 ARTIST IN RESIDENCE -
Lovar d. Kidd - "they drew a line"
The Dance & Performance Institute Artist in Residence Program looks forward to welcoming Lovar D. Kidd to Trinidad & Tobago from 31 May to 11 June 2022. As an artist in residence, Kidd will develop “They Drew a Line”, an ongoing research project and title of an improvisational dance and percussion performance that maps exclusion through redlining in Iowa. The work is due to be presented in June 2022 at Iowa’s CSPS. The Dance & Performance Institute Artist Residency will expand this research through (1) contextualizing Trinidad & Tobago’s colonial history and the resulting similar systems of oppression, and (2) community drumming and dance workshops. Kidd’s ethno-chorological approach will also utilize video logs and reflective writing to bring personal and conceptual discoveries, along with practice-based artistic knowledge into focus. To learn more, email us at institute@makedathomas.org. Let’s Dance!
Lovar Davis Kidd is a second-year MFA student, Teaching Assistant, and Iowa Arts Fellowship recipient in dance at the University of Iowa. He is a dancer, choreographer, spoken word artist, percussionist, and dance educator. Kidd has performed extensively in dance and musical theatre productions throughout the US, most notably as a National Tour ensemble member of the award-winning musical In The Heights. Prior to touring, Kidd was a core member of the all-male modern dance company, EDGEWORKS Dance Theater, under the artistic direction of Helanius J. Wilkins, in Washington DC. He is the founder of 100% OVER RACISM., an apparel company whose aim is to reclaim the cultural narrative of black, brown, and biracial bodies. Image from @lovardaviskidd.
2022 ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE - JONATHAN GONZÁLEZ- "PRACTICE"
The Dance & Performance Institute looks forward to welcoming Jonathan González, Marguerite Hemmings, and Ali Rosa-Salas to Trinidad & Tobago in April 2022. Together, these artists will develop an in-process project, "PRACTICE" – premiering at Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s River to River Festival in June 2022. They write:
"In this choreographic work, the dance formations of Jonkonnu, the New York Latin Hustle, and Black Eccentric Jazz Dances, and their constitutive sonic elements the Drum, Electronic Dance Music, Speech Acts and sonic capturing devices (microphones, audio looping, auto-tune) are employed to reveal intersecting lineages of emancipatory Black Diasporic literacies as revolutionary counterpoints to the acceleration of media displaying Black dispossession and death."
Jonathan González is a Dominican-American artist. Their practice is a cross-disciplinary and collaborative, choreographic dialogue with Diasporic black life and black living. González’s work ZERO (2018) presented a performative fabulation upon the historic presence of St. Marks Church-in-the-Bowery as a plantation colony, and was nominated for a New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award for Outstanding Production. Lucifer Landing I and II, presented by MoMA PS1 and Abrons Arts Center in 2019, meditated on the Black geographic practices of June Jordan and CHARAS in the form of a performance installation and Operetta presented in two acts. Their writings have been published by 53rd State Press, Contact Quarterly, Cultured Magazine, deem journal, and Ear Wave Event. They have received fellowships from the Art Matters Foundation, Foundation for the Contemporary Arts, Mertz Gilmore, Jerome Foundation, and have been an artist-in-residence at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography, Loghaven Artist Residency, and the Shandaken Project on Governors Island.
2022 ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE -MARGUERITE HEMMINGS - "PRACTICE"
The Dance & Performance Institute looks forward to welcoming Jonathan González, Marguerite Hemmings, and Ali Rosa-Salas to Trinidad & Tobago in April 2022. Together, these artists will develop an in-process project, "PRACTICE" – premiering at Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s River to River Festival in June 2022. They write:
"In this choreographic work, the dance formations of Jonkonnu, the New York Latin Hustle, and Black Eccentric Jazz Dances, and their constitutive sonic elements the Drum, Electronic Dance Music, Speech Acts and sonic capturing devices (microphones, audio looping, auto-tune) are employed to reveal intersecting lineages of emancipatory Black Diasporic literacies as revolutionary counterpoints to the acceleration of media displaying Black dispossession and death."
Marguerite Angelica Monique Hemmings is a Jamaican born, Jersey-raised, NYC-made performance artist/educator currently based in Philadelphia, USA. They focus on one's own body, one's own way of moving, adapting, healing, releasing, protecting, changing, and connecting to the unseen. They are a master of body ceremonies and a curator of vibes. As a choreographer they specialize in emergent, improvisational and social dance movement styles and technologies, rooted in the story of the African Diaspora. They are researching the ancestral and subversive role of dance, and the dancer, throughout the African Diaspora and look to conjure these technologies through all of their (present) work. Marguerite uses body, text, media, and moving images in their work. Hemmings’ work centers itself in liberation. They have been subverting, working, and creating with youth as a teaching artist for over 10 years. They currently work as a lecturer at University of the Arts and are a resident artist with Abrons Arts Center. They have received grants from the Jerome Foundation, Brooklyn Arts Council, Harlem Stage, University Settlement, Dancing While Black, Urban Bush Women’s Choreographic Center Initiative, Arizona State University’s Projecting All Voices Fellowship, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts to further their work. They've received a Bessie Award for Outstanding Performer in Eva Yaa Asantewaa’s Skeleton Architecture. They currently work inside of a self/spirit directed practice called we free. we free looks at the millennial and gen z approach to liberation through its music, social dance and social media.
2022 ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE - ALI ROSA-SALAS - "PRACTICE"
The Dance & Performance Institute looks forward to welcoming Jonathan González, Marguerite Hemmings, and Ali Rosa-Salas to Trinidad & Tobago in April 2022. Together, these artists will develop an in-process project, "PRACTICE" – premiering at Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s River to River Festival in June 2022. They write:
"In this choreographic work, the dance formations of Jonkonnu, the New York Latin Hustle, and Black Eccentric Jazz Dances, and their constitutive sonic elements the Drum, Electronic Dance Music, Speech Acts and sonic capturing devices (microphones, audio looping, auto-tune) are employed to reveal intersecting lineages of emancipatory Black Diasporic literacies as revolutionary counterpoints to the acceleration of media displaying Black dispossession and death."
Ali Rosa-Salas is a curator of live performance, music, and visual art. Her approach is rooted in the belief that curatorial practice must serve the public good. She finds inspiration from the cultural ecosystems of Lenapehoking (currently called New York City), where she was born and raised. Ali is currently the Artistic Director at Abrons Arts Center/Henry Street Settlement, where she curates the Center’s performance and exhibition programming, as well as supports the Center’s residency programs. Prior to Abrons, Ali organized projects with AFROPUNK, Danspace Project, Discwoman, Knockdown Center, MoCADA, Weeksville Heritage Center, and more. She graduated from Barnard with a B.A. in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, with interdisciplinary concentrations in Dance and Race/Ethnic Studies, and has an M.A. from the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance at Wesleyan University. In addition to her role at Abrons, Ali is the Associate Curator of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. She is also the co-curator of Nuyorican Mag, a digital archive that celebrates the cultural, social, and political innovations of Puerto Ricans from New York City.
NOW ACCEPTING PROPOSALS FOR 2022-2023 ARTIST RESIDENCIES IN TRINIDAD & TOBAGO.
SELF-DIRECTED RESIDENCIES
The Dance & Performance Institute offers self-directed residencies in Trinidad & Tobago. Self-directed residencies are opportunities where the artist is free to experiment and explore new directions in their work. Artists have presented performances, led workshops and public lectures, conducted research, collaborated with local artists, and created meaningful, diverse exchanges through the unique cultural context of Trinidad & Tobago. Interaction with other artist residents is encouraged through creative collaboration and informal discussion.
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Applicants can be residents of any country in the world.
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Residencies are designed for individual artists.
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Residencies include housing, studio space (for rehearsal, workshops or teaching), project management assistance, and artist mentoring.
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Residencies are generally between 2 weeks and 1 month in length.
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Residency costs are based on proposals, beginning at $2,000 USD.
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Residencies can support creative projects in the early and mid stages of development.
APPLICATION & GUIDELINES
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and require:
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A current Curriculum Vitae
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A Letter of Interest that includes desired dates of residency. In your letter of interest, you must address the details of your proposed residency (a complete project description) and why you are interested in creating, researching or developing work in Trinidad & Tobago
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A complete Artist Bio. Please provide both an extended bio and a short bio of 100 words or less.
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Two (2) Photographs with photo credits.
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Documentation of your work. Please submit two (2) videos of recent work, dance videos or dance performances. Each sample should not exceed five minutes and must be submitted via online links to video samples. List both links in a single .pdf or .doc file.
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Email institute@makedathomas.org.
ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
2018-2019
J. BOUEY (UNITED STATES) - "Chiron in Leo"
2016-2017
NEW WAVES! ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
FANA FRASER (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO/USA) - "Rosie"
DEBORAH HAZLER (AUSTRIA) - "Inefficient Bodies/The Anti-Capitalist Dance"
2014-2015
alma woods fellowship for the arts residency
ZAIDEE E. WALKER (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO)
"Intersections of Dance & Architecture"
ADIA WHITAKER/ASE DANCE THEATER (UNITED STATES)
A. NIA AUSTIN EDWARDS (UNITED. STATES)
TIMOTHY "PROLIFIC"JONES (UNITED STATES)
"Ibo Legacy of Resistance in Trinidad & Tobago"
NEW WAVES! AYITI ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE
ADEOLA DEWIS (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO) - "Play Yuhself"
MICHELLE GRANT MURRAY (UNITED STATES) - "Ancestral Dance Movement Memory"
2014-2015
NICOLE PEMBERTON (CANADA)
"Contemporary Dance in the Caribbean: From Tradition to Modern Aesthetic"
SANTEE SMITH (CANADA)
MONIQUE MOJICA (CANADA)
International Indigenous Women’s Performance Project; "NeoIndigena"
MARIA NUNES (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO)
Photographer-in-Residence
2012-2013
TAMARA WILLIAMS (UNITED STATES)
MAXINE MONTHILUS (UNITED STATES)
DENAE HANNAH (UNITED STATES)
“Movement, Music & Religion: African Diaspora communities in Trinidad, Brazil and the United States”
LAURA LEVINSON (UNITED STATES)
Where is “the Dance?: Searching for the spiritual essence of dance through Orisha
MARLÈNE MYRTIL (MARTINIQUE) - “Blues Escarlate"; Carnival Performance Institute
MAGIRA ROSS (UNITED STATES) - ”Outta Sight/Outta Mind”
JACOB CINO (CANADA) - “Collide”
ANDREA THOMPSON (UNITED STATES) - Assessing Your Archetype: Discovering Your Female Archetype in Orisha Dancing
MARIA NUNES (TRINIIDAD & TOBAGO) - Photographer-in-Residence
2010-2011
CELIA WEISS BAMBARA (UNITED STATES)
“Kenbe, Amour, Colére, Folie: Improvisations for Love”
NICOLE CASTOR (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO/UNITED STATES)
MEIDA TERESA MCNEAL (UNITED STATES)
CHANZO GREENIDGE (UNITED STATES)
"Consuming Blackness Diasporically: A Transnational Performance Ethnography Project and Diasporic Culture Archive"
ANANYA CHATTERJEA (INDIA/UNITED STATES)
"Kshoy!/Decay"; “Tyranny of the Pointed Foot”
TASHA CONNOLLY (UNITED STATES)
Moko Study with Keylemanjahro School of Arts & Culture
alma woods fellowship for the arts residency
MICHELLE ISAVA (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO) - Independent Study
BINAHKAYE JOY (UNITED STATES) - THE MOTHER PROJECT/The Mother Dance-Dialogue; Site Specific Space Activations
CHEVON STEWART (UNITED STATES) - "Paper Chase"
BRITTANY WILLIAMS (UNITED STATES) - Independent Study; Carnival Performance Institute
BURTON SANKERALLI (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO) - Philosopher in Residence
MARIA NUNES (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO) - Photographer in Residence.
ARNALDO JAMES (TRINIDAD &.TOBAGO) - Photographer in Residence
The Dance & Performance Institute's Artist in Residence Program has been made possible through collaboration + partnership with Alice Yard, Trinidad Theatre Workshop, University of the West Indies, Centre for Creative & Festival Arts, Contemporary Choreographer’s Collective (COCO), Alliance Française, The Philosophical Society of Trinidad and Tobago , The Idakeda Group, and Studio 66.