Davalois Fearon Dance commissioned Loreal Quiroz as a part of the DFD Commission Initiative to create Más In-Poverty-Ation. Más In-Poverty-Ation explores the overrepresented black and brown incarcerated experience through the personal, correctional, and sociological lens. J
The Davalois Fearon Dance commissioning initiative is a platform that provides upcoming dancers and choreographers the opportunity to share their work via the Davalois Fearon Dance Virtual Theater. Through this endeavor, DFD’s mission of cultivating the next generation of artists is realized. Each commissioned artist will be provided with a stipend, direct mentorship with Dava, administrative and production support, and a virtual premiere of their work. For more information, visit davaloisfearon.com/commissions.
Loreal Quiroz is a dancer located in the Bronx. She holds her Bachelor's in Sociology and Dance. Loreal uses dance to express her sociological perspective on social inequalities in the black and brown community.
Carla Michelle is a poet and performing artist based in NYC. She holds a BFA in MultiMedia Performing arts and competed in the Irene Ryan Acting competition. Her credits include One Nation Under Ice directed by Mia Allen, Eletricidad, and The Passion of Antigona Perez.
Davalois Fearon Dance (DFD), founded in 2016 by critically acclaimed dancer and choreographer Davalois Fearon, presents multidisciplinary works that push artistic and social boundaries and cultivate the next generation of dance artists. Fearon’s diverse movement vocabulary, hailed for its “tenacious virtuosity” and said to hold “audiences in the moment,” is coupled with the work of creators such as composer/clarinetist/saxophonist Mike McGinnis, interdisciplinary artist André M. Zachery, and visual artist Jasmine Murrell in collaborative pieces that educate audiences and spark vital conversations about change. DFD performances are often complemented by educational and interactive elements, usually in partnership with local activists and experts, encouraging audiences across the country to understand pressing problems in new ways. Forced to cancel performances when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, DFD developed innovative alternatives – such as the DFD Virtual Theater – to champion rising artists and to continue engaging in important dialog on justice and equality. The Virtual Theater is now a forum for commissioned new works by artists involved in the DFD Commissioning Initiative,which provides a stipend, mentorship with Fearon, and administrative and production support to emerging dancers and choreographers. The Virtual Theater also hosts various educational, social, and cultural initiatives, including the Time to Talk series, which features Fearon speaking with renowned guests about race and racism. DFD has received recurring support from the Bronx Council on the Arts, and Fearon was a 2019 recipient of the esteemed MAP Fund Grant. This and other funding have helped facilitate these innovations in the company’s community engagement.