Momentum Greenway Dance Program, Presented by Amazon, 2023

Curators: Keelin Caldwell, Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, and Peter DiMuro, Choreographer & Director
Producer: Georgia Lyman
Music & Sound Director: Nate Tucker

 

 

This new, site-responsive dance series will debut in the fall of 2023 with Continuum Dance Project, Jean Appolon Expressions, Public Displays of Motion, and Vimoksha. The Greenway Conservancy is partnering with Boston-based choreographer/director Peter DiMuro, who will guide the cohort through a year-long development process that includes workshops with guest artists, peer critical response, rehearsal space, mentorship, public work-in-progress performances, and documentation. Each choreographer has selected a portion of the 1.5-mile-long Greenway on which to base their work. Their 15-30 minute dance will respond to the context of the site, whether historical, social, anthropological, or environmental. All dances will be performed for the public over a series of weekends in September 2023, culminating in a final festival day of performance in early October 2023.

Photo credits: Continuum Dance Project by Annielly Camargo, Vimoksha Dance Company by Olivia Moon Photography, Jean Appolon Expressions by Olivia Moon Photography, and Public Displays of Motion by Anthony Retournard

  • Choreographers/co-directors: Adriane Brayton and Fernadina Chan

    Location: Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park

    Continuum Dance Project (CDP) is a Boston-based dance company focused on creating site-specific work, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and reflecting the backgrounds of our collaborating artists. Founded in 2013 by Fernadina Chan, CDP choreographers/co-directors Adriane Brayton and Fernadina Chan work collaboratively with their dancers. In 2022 Continuum Dance Project received The Boston Dancemakers Residency, made possible with support from the Aliad Fund at The Boston Foundation, and an AiR Residency at Somerville Arts Council’s ArtAssembled. CDP is a 2022 Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowship Finalist in Choreography, and received a 2020 Live Arts Boston grant from the Boston Foundation. Continuum Dance Project pushes the boundaries of audience interaction and traditional vantage points, by presenting work in unconventional spaces.

  • Founder/Artistic Director: Jean Appolon

    Location: Armenian Heritage Park

    Jean Appolon Expressions (JAE) is a contemporary dance company deeply rooted in Haitian-folkloric culture that nurtures a global community through professional performances, educational opportunities, dance training, and the joy of movement for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. JAE shares the liberating power of Haitian-folkloric dance to cultivate hope and healing toward a more expressive and socially just world. Based in Boston and directed by Jean Appolon, JAE’s professional company conducts performances, community classes, and educational workshops, with the goal of using dance and dialogue to promote healthy communities and speak to topics of social justice. The Haitian contemporary dance company combines Modern technique and Haitian folkloric dance, bringing a new artistic vernacular to its audiences. With its dynamic repertoire, JAE educates audiences about Haitian culture, traditions, history, and current issues. 

    The company has performed both at major venues such as Jacob’s Pillow, Boston’s Paramount Center, The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the ICA, The Silver Spring Civic Building, and in city parks and community spaces in free performances accessible to the public. JAE has also performed at many schools and colleges, including American University, Harvard University, Lesley University, Salem State, Bridgewater State, and Wheaton College. The company has been fortunate to share the stage with celebrities such as Danny Glover, Henry Louis Gates, and Edwidge Danticat, and to collaborate with community partners around the greater Boston area.

  • Artistic Director & Choreographer: Peter DiMuro 

    Location: North End area of The Greenway

    For 30+ years, DiMuro has woven a career as a dancer, actor, choreographer, director, teacher, and facilitator of creativity. He was Artistic Director of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange 2003-2008, a White House Millennial Artist, and a Mayor of Boston/ProArts Arts Award recipient. His work has received support from the NEA, National Performance Network, the Mass Artists’ Foundation, Mass Cultural Council, and MetLife Foundation. DiMuro was a member of the inaugural cohort of the Mayor of Boston’s Artist-in-Residence program in 2015, the recipient of an Arts Fuse Award in 2016, and the 2018 inaugural choreographer-in-residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. DiMuro is currently focused on physically embodying public art by creating dance in and for public spaces. His work creates platforms for the often invisible histories of our shared spaces, allowing the viewer to see and move through places differently. Public Displays of Motion is a dance company under the creative umbrella of DiMuro that develops and performs artistic works in dance and dance/theatre that translate the poetic and humane within everyday lives into performance; they will be one of the four companies involved in this project.

  • Founder and choreographer: Chavi Bansal 

    Location: Rowes Wharf Plaza on The Greenway 

    Vimokshas mission is to bring the healing power of movement to different communities to empower, inspire and connect people. For this purpose, the company runs various Movement and Wellness programs in other community centers, schools, and art institutes across Boston. Vimoksha has performed internationally bringing high-quality productions to audiences across the globe. Vimoksha’s artistic Practice is rooted in Indian martial arts (Kalaripayatt), Modern dance, Yoga, and Meditation.  At its heart, regardless of the form, the practice is focused on three areas: self-inquiry, stillness, and connection. Started in The Netherlands in 2010 by Chavi Bansal, Vimoksha has found a home in Boston in 2014, with Boston-based dancers.