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| Davalois Fearon Dance Press Kit 2019 |
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New Music USA 2020 Project Grants Announced
New Music USA, July 2020 New Music USA is pleased to announce the selection of 110 projects involving 392 creators and artists for the tenth round of New Music USA Project Grants. These projects demonstrate the imaginative, diverse, and high-quality work that New Music USA is dedicated to supporting. Photo: Tony Tenenbaum |
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Dance/NYC Announces 25 Recipients of Dance Advancement Fund
Dance/NYC, January 2020 Made possible by the generous support of the Ford Foundation, the purpose of the Dance Advancement Fund is to address the inequitable distribution of resources in the dance field and advance resilience by supporting dance makers with budgets between $25,000 and $1 million. Photo: Marcus Middleton |
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Review: Emotional, Vulnerable Dance at New York Live Arts
Alise Rovner, Bwog, November 22 2019 I had chills by the end of this performance, as I watched these women quite literally bringing each other back to life and embracing one another after hardship...My favorite piece, Walk Good “Lady” by Davalois Fearon, which literally blew my mind– it was raw, emotional, vulnerable, and unlike anything I had ever seen before! Photo: Julieta Cervantes |
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"Barnard/Colombia Dances" weaves silence and spoken word into contemporary dance at New York Live Arts
Anya Raj, Colombia Spectator, November 25 2019 Dancers began murmuring sayings like, “you’re such a show-off,” and “I don’t know,” continuously getting louder and more chaotic. Their movements were synced with their yelling and the noise of a timer ticking. The piece ended with dancers on the floor, harmoniously humming while hugging a partner. Even as the lights dimmed, their vibrant white costumes and humming could still be seen and heard Photo: Julieta Cervantes |
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PRELUDE Festival Announces Full Lineup
Broadway World, October 2 2019 PRELUDE's Work-in-Process series will showcase samples of new work by: Melis Aker, Sophie Amieva, Kate Benson and Jessica Almasy, nicHi douglas, Davalois Fearon, Sanaz Ghajar, Deepali Gupta, Michael + Patrick, Cristina Pitter & Serena Miler, Target Margin Theater / Moe Yousuf, Ashley Tata, Elinor T. & Drew Vanderburg, and Bailey Williams + Derek Smith + Alex Rodabaugh. Photo: Marcus Middleton |
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The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center Presents PRELUDE 2019: Riotous Excursions
Broadway World, August 29 2019 The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presents its annual PRELUDE FESTIVAL on October 3, 4, and 5 at The Graduate Center, CUNY, The City University of New York, curated by David Bruin & Sanaz Ghajar in collaboration with Frank Hentschker, produced by Sami Pyne. Photo: Suzanna Mars Photography |
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BRIC Announces BRIClab Residencies
Broadway World, July 31 2019 In Spring 2020, artists developing and presenting new works-in-progress include...dancer, teacher, and choreographer Davalois Fearon, with For C.J., a multimedia dance piece that highlights systemic environmental and medical racism, dedicated to Clifton Fearon, Jr., who died from an asthma attack at age 20 (March 5-6) Photo: Tony Turner Photography |
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Festival Report: Vision
John Sharpe, New York City Jazz Record, July 2019 Among the dance projects, the presentation by the Davalois Fearon Dance company, musicians Mike McGinnis, Peter Apfelbaum and Gerald Cleaver and poet Patricia Smith achieved the sort of vivacious coming together of movement, music and poetry that summed up the festival ethos in a production that was sexually charged and empowering. Photo: Frank Rubolino |
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Vision Festival #24 - Day 2
Martin Schray, The Free Jazz Collective Blog, June 24 2019 This project was everything in a nutshell the Vision Festival represents: a collaboration of improvised music, dance, visual arts and poetry. Smith delivered some kind of feminist poem in which she referred to an image of a house without windows which seemed to symbolize the situation of women. But the house’s “roof was on fire“ and the woman who was confined to it had no interest in extinguishing the flames because she wanted to see the man burn. In the end, the house with no window also became a deadly trap for the man. |
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Davalois Fearon at the Vision Festival
Dance Enthusiast, June 3, 2019 The Motion of Words and Sound, a music, dance, and poetry experience featuring longtime music and dance collaborators Davalois Fearon and Mike McGinnis joined by world-renowned poet Patricia Smith. Photo: Argenis Appolinario |
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Exclusive Announcement: 24th Vision Festival Returns to Brooklyn, June 11-16
Matt Micucci, JAZZIZ, April 2019 Dance had a key role to play on the Vision Festival, and 2019 is no exception. The festival presents crucial figures from New York’s downtown dance scene as well as choreographers whose art is intrinsically connected to musical forms and collaborations with improvisers. Dancer-choreographer Davalois Fearon, who will appear in tandem with clarinetist and saxophonist Mike McGinnis. Photo: Heidi WIld |
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Davalois Fearon: dancing for C.J. and so many others
Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody, March 30, 2019 When dance artist Davalois Fearon lost her nephew to asthma, she turned mourning into action. Her work, For C.J., represents a cry against the dire health outcomes for communities--predominantly, Black and Latinx people--doubly-impacted by urban pollution and inadequate health care. Photo: Tony Turner Photography |
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3/21/19 O&A NYC What's Happening This Week
Out and About NYC, March 21, 2019 The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD) presents its 19th annual celebration of women in dance, comedy, music, poetry and performance, including works by queer and trans women. Among the featured artists are Marga Gomez, Nélida Tirado, Alicia Bauman-Morales and Davalois Fearon Dance. Festival continues Friday, March 22, 29 and Saturday March 23, 30. Photo: Tony Turner Photography |
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Marga Gomez Opens BAAD!Ass Women Festival
Broadway World, February 22, 2019 Fresh off of back to back engagements on Broadway and at Martha’s Vineyard, and her successful crowdfunding campaign that raised over $20,000 to artistically combat disparities in asthma care, the Bessie Award-Winning Artistic Activist Davalois Fearon is excited to announce her return home to The Bronx for two engagements at BAAD! The Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance to close out 2018, and kick off her 2019 season. Photo: Argenis Appolinario |
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March 2019 Dance Calendar
Charmaine Warren, Amsterdam News, February 28, 2019 Davalois Fearon Dance in “For C.J.,” “… dedicated to artistic director Davalois Fearon’s nephew C.J., who was the victim of a fatal asthma attack in 2017,” notes the release. Though dominated by dance, there are also theater and film offerings. For more information visit www.baadbronx.org. Photo: Argenis Appolinario |
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BAAD!Ass Women Festival
Time Out The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance presents its 19th annual celebration of women in dance, comedy, music, poetry and performance, including works by queer and trans women. Among the featured artists are Marga Gomez, Nélida Tirado, Alicia Bauman-Morales and Davalois Fearon Dance. Photo: Argenis Appolinario |
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BAAD! Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance Presents Davalois Fearon Dance "EXCERPTS OF FOR C.J."
Dance Enthusiast, December 2018 Fresh off of back to back engagements on Broadway and at Martha’s Vineyard, and her successful crowdfunding campaign that raised over $20,000 to artistically combat disparities in asthma care, the Bessie Award-Winning Artistic Activist Davalois Fearon is excited to announce her return home to The Bronx for two engagements at BAAD! The Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance to close out 2018, and kick off her 2019 season. Photo: Argenis Appolinario |
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Interconnection Among Dance and Human Rights
UAB Institute for Human Rights Blog, November 2018 Something that set her apart from other choreographers was how she used dance as a way to interact with the audience. ...Fearon’s goal is to give the audience members an idea of what it feels like to be “denied a resource, overlooked and ignored.” The message doesn’t stop with the performance but continues on with a discussion. The discussion is meant to create a safe environment where people can talk about the issue and try to understand it. Photo: Tony Tenenbaum |
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Wassaic Project Presents New York Times Featured Artistic Duo as Part of the 10th Annual Wassaic Project Summer Festival
Harlem Valley News, August 2, 2018 DavaMike makes history as the first music and dance residency in the Wassaic Project’s inaugural summer dance residency. The duo’s performances feature original choreography by Davalois Fearon alongside compositions by Mike McGinnis that moves beyond stylistic limitations. Photo: Piotr Redlinksi/New York Times |
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August 2018 Dance Calendar
Charmaine Warren, Amsterdam News, July 26, 2018 "For this pairing, The Yard celebrates '…a new generation of activist dance artists has arisen in the American Black community, seeking to address unfolding real-world events…explore and provoke searing questions about being Black, about dancing Black, in today’s America.'" Photo: Andrew Lee Imaging |
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These Choreographers Are Using Dance To Fight For Climate Action
Nicole Loeffler-Gladstone, Dance Magazine, July 23, 2018 Her family in the U.S. had already spent money bussing clean water to relatives in Jamaica when a conversation with the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations prompted Davalois Fearon to think about the big picture of water resources. Fearon usually convenes a post-show discussion with experts. "It's an opportunity for audience members who are suspicious, or who don't understand the issue, to engage head-on," she says. Photo: Andrew Lee Imaging |
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Summer Daze: The Shows to Catch During This Year's Packed Summer Festival Season
Courtney Escoyne and Wendy Perron, Dance Magazine, June 14, 2018 Caleb Teicher, The Bang Group and Ephrat "Bounce" Asherie liven up Martha's Vineyard in Tap The Yard: A Vineyard Festival of Rhythm and Beats, July 5–7 and 14. Later in the summer, look for Doug Elkins (July 27–28), Canadian ice skating group Le Patin Libre (Aug. 3–4), and The Wondertwins on a split bill with the fearless Davalois Fearon (Aug. 16–18). dancetheyard.org. Photo: Andrew Lee Imaging |
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Yard Steps Boldly Into Summer Season
Louisa Hufstader, Vineyard Gazette, June 14, 2018 "Hip-hop dancers The Wondertwins, who performed on the Vineyard during the Winter Yard season earlier this year, are back August 16 and August 18 with Jamaican-American choreographer Davalois Fearon in a provocative new work called Black." Photo: Mark Frohna |
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The Billie Holiday Theatre Presents a Two-Day Festival of Cutting-Edge Revolutionary Dance
Broadway World, June 14, 2018 Join ChoreoQuest choreographers Germaul Barnes, Angel Chinn, Davalois Fearon, Rosamond S. King, Sekou McMiller, Johnnie Mercer, Nathan Trice and Edisa Weeks. Post-Performance Reception with choreographers to follow. |
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New Victory Announces Victory Dance Summer 2018
Broadway World, April 26, 2018 Sharing the New Victory stage in a mixed bill of the City's most acclaimed dance companies and soloists, this year's Victory Dance artists include A Palo Seco Flamenco Company, Ayodele Casel, Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Davalois Fearon Dance, Ephrat Asherie Dance, Eva Dean Dance, Parul Shah, Paul Taylor's Company B, Pilobolus, Seán Curran Company and Stephen Petronio Company. Photo: Piotr Redlinski |
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Davalois Fearon and the Politics of Race in Dance
Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody [Fearon is] a woman who excels at whatever she sets her mind to doing. Her supple, sculptural, forceful body is equipped to ace every form of movement--from ballet barre to twerking--even when built-in, exaggerated imperfections show she's unhappy and unfulfilled by the expectations that others put on her. Photo: Richard Termine (c) Mabou Mines |
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OPEN: Dancer Davalois Fearon
BronxNet Host Rhina Valentin sits down with dancer and artistic director Davalois Fearon to discuss her dance company. Photo: Argenis Appolinario |
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Dance Calendar March 2018
Charmaine Warren, Amsterdam News, March 1, 2018 March 27-April 1—As one of the initiatives at the newly opened Performance Space New York in the Mabou Mines theater, works by Tariq Al-Sabir, Tamar-kali, Davalois Fearon and Sanaz Ghajar will be presented at the inaugural SUITE/Space artists’ series titled “Mabou Mines.” The series promises to support artists who reflect New York City’s rich cultural landscape and provides artistic advisement, development support, rehearsal space and opportunities for public performance. For more information, visit www.performancespacenewyork.org. Photo: Andrew Lee Imaging |
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Up-and-Coming Black Artists to Have on Your Radar
Melanie Greene, Dance Magazine, February 21, 2018 Choreographer Davalois Fearon brings high energy and tenacious virtuosity to all her work. Photo: Andrew Lee Imaging |
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Dancing, Talking, and Fighting to be Seen
Christine Jowers, The Dance Enthusiast In excerpts of the autobiographical Time to Talk, Fearon travels from her familiar Jamaican dance-hall, reggae-ease to the more bound, shape-oriented classical forms in which she's come to excel. She addresses prejudice as she moves. Experiencing racist attitudes, she found “art to be a wonderful way to deal with it.” Photo: Mark Frohna |
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Documentary IF THE DANCER DANCES Launches KickStarter Campaign
Broadway World The film offers up a cast of rich characters, from dancer Davalois Fearon-faced with the weighty prospect of becoming the first black female to ever perform Cunningham professionally-to Stephen Petronio, one of this generation's leading choreographers, who is bringing RainForest into his company. |
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The Bessies Announce Recipients of the 2017 NY Dance and Performance Awards
Broadway World Ensemble of the skeleton architecture, or the future of our worlds for a history-in-the-making performance that dismantled improvisational dance norms to create a robust, disruptive, and dynamic world. For a cast of individuals who used a full range of movement styles to take the audience from Dakar to Kingston, the Bronx to Bushwick, in a fluid dance of connection. Photo: AK47 Division |
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The Bessies Announce Winners of 2017 New York Dance and Performance Awards
Artforum Ensemble of the skeleton architecture, or the future of our worlds: Maria Bauman, Sidra Bell, Davalois Fearon, Marjani Forté-Saunders, Melanie Greene, Kayla Hamilton, Jasmine Hearn, Marguerite Hemmings, Nia Love, Paloma McGregor, Sydnie L. Mosley, Rakiya Orange, Grace Osborne, Leslie Parker, Angie Pittman, Samantha Speis, Charmaine Warren, Marýa Wethers, Ni’Ja Whitson, and others, curated by Eva Yaa Asantewaa for Danspace Project’s Platform 2016: Lost and Found Photo: AK47 Division |
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Your List of the 2017 Bessie Recipients
InfiniteBody Ensemble of the skeleton architecture, or the future of our worlds for a history-in-the-making performance that dismantled improvisational dance norms to create a robust, disruptive, and dynamic world. For a cast of individuals who used a full range of movement styles to take the audience from Dakar to Kingston, the Bronx to Bushwick, in a fluid dance of connection. Photo: AK47 Division |
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Arts fest embraces Warwick's 150th
New Jersey Herald "Davalois holds audiences in the moment, promising to deliver a bold engagement with their picturesque surroundings through a combination of choreographed entrancing movements and improvisational inspiration." Photo: Argenis Appolinario |
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Goings On About Town
The New Yorker As part of “Theater of the Resist,” an eight-week series of politically edged performances, Davalois Fearon, known for her bold dancing with Stephen Petronio’s company, presents excerpts of her piece “Time to Talk.” It’s a multidisciplinary solo that confronts racial bias in academia and in the dance world, using autobiographical evidence. Photo: Andrew Lee Imaging |
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The Best NYC Shows This Week
The Village Voice As part of a series of "pointedly political performance," Jamaican-born Davalois Fearon presents excerpts from her multimedia dance piece Time to Talk, inspired by her personal experiences of racial bias within academia and the dance world. Photo: Andrew Lee Imaging |
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America Hurrah
Mary Cargill, DanceViewTimes "Fearon's movements are both gymnastic and natural, as the dancers combined crouching and running with sudden bursts of dynamic, leg-thrusting energy, and the work was a haunting reminder that Americans are so lucky to be able to take our water for granted, turning on a tap without effort." Photo: Charles Rice-Gonzalez |
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How Many Choreographers Does It Take to Create a Duet? 16
Jack Anderson, The New York Times Starting on Tuesday, Jan. 3, the American Dance Platform will gather eight companies from around the country that have a range of influences: jazz, ballet, salsa, modern, Indian and Afro-Cuban dance. The week, curated by Alice B. Adams, of the Kennedy Center in Washington, includes events like an epic duet by 16 choreographers; a dance comparing human relations to a chess game; a tribute to cosmic energy; a satirical depiction of comic book superheroes; and evocations of water — both its grandeur and scarcity. Photo: Argenis Appolinario |
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Dance artist Davalois Fearon premieres new work at UW-Milwaukee
Wisconsin Gazette Davalois Fearon, founder and artistic director of New York-based Davalois Fearon Dance, premieres her new work, Time to Talk Milwaukee, in which dance, original music, poetry and visual arts are used as tools to bring attention to today’s important issues surrounding race as it relates to identity, dance education and American history. Photo: Piotr Redlinski |
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Acclaimed Dancer Davalois Fearon Brings Performance About Race to UWM
Elisabeth Wallock, Milwaukee Magazine Now, an acclaimed Jamaican-born dancer and former University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee MFA student hopes to add to the conversation. Davalois Fearon, founder and artistic director of New York-based Davalois Fearon Dance, is bringing a performance called “Time to Talk Milwaukee” to a studio at UWM. Using dance, music, poetry and other visuals, the artist says she’ll tackle issues relating to racial identity and “the overall lasting effects of colonialism and slavery as it relates to racism within academia.” Photo: Mikael Walter |
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"skeleton architecture, or the future of our worlds" Danspace Project's Platform 2016: Lost and Found, Eva Yaa Asantewaa-Curator
Nicole Loeffler-Gladstone, The Dance Enthusiast, November 5, 2016 "It's unusual for an evening-length performance to be comprised entirely of improvisation. skeleton architecture was so profoundly moving and complex that perhaps more choreographic evenings should be replaced with improvisation." Photo: Ian Douglas/courtesy Danspace Project |
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20 Dancers Build, Shape, and Share a World for Themselves
Alexis Clements, Hyperallergic, November 1, 2016 "Curated by Eva Yaa Asantewaa, the dance piece the skeleton architecture, or the future of our worlds incorporated structured improvisation, a deep sense of play, a bold engagement with the audience, and a particular permission given to watch and witness." Photo: Ian Douglas/courtesy Danspace Project |
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Congregation of Survival – Lost and Found Platform continues
Maura Donahue, Culturebot, October 28, 2016 But, on Saturday night, the excessively dry analysis of academic scholarship burned away in the face of one of my most joyous dance viewing experiences ever. There was so much range, so many vocabularies, so many dynamic counterpoints and convergences, choreographic and performative choices, internal and external foci, somatic and entertainment driven choices, so much exploration, research and play." |
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Harlem's "E-Moves" spotlights emerging dancemakers
Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody Davalois Fearon--actually a frequent critics' favorite for her dancing with choreographer Stephen Petronio--is not new to the spotlight. But as she ventures out more as her own dancemaker, we can see a personal, introspective focus that tempers crowd-pleasing, quirky agility. Photo: Marc Millman |
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"Davalois Fearon made an electrifying Bay Area debut as a choreographer..."
Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News Davalois Fearon made an electrifying Bay Area debut as a choreographer last December at the Berkeley Arts Festival performance space with her solo piece, “Consider Water,” performing a ritualistic piece to a live score by reed expert Mike McGinnis. Photo: Courtesy of Between Classes |
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Dance Listings for April 1-7
The New York Times This Harlem Stage series pairs choreographers with mentors in the creation of new work. The 17th edition features Desiree Godsell, Laurie M. Taylor, Davalois Fearon — whom audiences may know from her fearless dancing with the Stephen Petronio Company — and the renowned hoofer Jason Samuels Smith, who will be joined by his fellow tap stars Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards and Derick K. Grant. Photo: Charles Rice-Gonzalez |
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Davalois Fearon To Co-Headline E-Moves 17 At Harlem Stage Will Perform ‘Water’, ‘Thirst’, & ‘Storm’ From ‘Consider Water’
Harlem One Stop, March 31, 2016 Professional performer and choreographer Davalois Fearon will be performing commissioned works Water, Thirst, & Storm as part of E-Moves 17 at The Harlem Stage Gatehouse (150 Convent Avenue, Manhattan). The New York Times Featured Artist will Co-Headline the performances with fellow choreographers Jason Samuels Smith, Laurie Taylor, and Desiree Godsell. Photo: Argenis Appolinario |
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Piece by Bronx Raised Choreographer Tours Across the U.S.
Madeline Anthony, Bronx Times Davalois Fearon, dancer, teacher and winner of a 2014 Bronx Council on the Arts BRIO fellowship, has used her grant towards the initial choreographic endeavor of her piece ‘Consider Water’ which she now performs across the U.S., most recently in Seattle, WA. Photo: Argenis Appolinario |
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Two for the road: Mike McGinnis and Davalois Fearon
Andrew Gilbert, Berkeleyside, December 3, 2015 “This piece has turned into a life changing thing for me,” says Fearon, 31, who goes by Dava (day-va). “I was inspired to make it out of passion and wrote grants to fund it with the intention that my goodwill would make some kind of wave in the universe, but I was never really thinking that it would become a career changer. Consider Water has given me multiple choreographic opportunities, and I can see myself becoming a full-time choreographer.” Photo: Piotr Redlinksi |
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Consider Water highlights sustainability message through the arts
Kendra Langlie, 83 Degrees, October 27, 2015 “It isn’t just about arts and dance, but getting in front of some of the current issues going on right now,” says Angela Walters, HCC’s Community Relations and Marketing Manager. “We live in Tampa Bay -- and our available, clean water is something that we have to start thinking about.” Photo: Davalois Fearon |
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Finding Their Rhythm After Improvising
Emily Rueb, The New York Times, August 16, 2015 The pair began collaborating when Mr. McGinnis mentioned he was looking for a choreographer. “Over my dead body someone else is going to choreograph my man’s music,” she said. They are now in rehearsal for “Consider Water,” which will be performed this fall at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance. Mr. McGinnis wrote the music and will make a cameo on stage with his clarinet. Photo: Piotr Redlinksi |
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Professional dancers come to UWM to enhance their careers
Kathy Quirk, UWM Report, July 17, 2015 Dancing is a lifelong passion for Davalois Fearon, a New York-based dancer, teacher and choreographer who has performed around the world.She is now also a student in UWM’s Master of Fine Arts in performing arts: dance – a degree designed for professionals such as Fearon, who promises: “I plan on dancing until I die.” |
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A season of celebration for dance artist Davalois Fearon
Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody, March 22, 2015 Consider Water, her first full-length piece--was inspired by a talk with a UN ambassador working on issues of water-related disasters and scarcity of safe drinking water in many regions of the world. He happened to read about Fearon in a New York Times article and reached out to her. She told him of water shortages in Jamaica and how her family paid to get water shipped to her grandmother's house. The ambassador simply challenged her, "Well, what are you going to do about it?" "I was thinking, Wow, I don't have much money. I can't save the world. But I have dance." Photo: Argenis Appolinario |