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Awash in a red light, three femme presenting performers dressed in black hold a boat constructed out of tape and twigs. They are putting two halves of it together: one looks like several apartment buildings all together and the bottom is a clearer boat shape. An oversized coat hangs in the background, along with many different puppets from previous moments scattered along the back of the stage.
Photo: REC Philly
  • Write Back Atchas

The Stories We Steal and the Stories We Make

Zoe Farnsworth

A rich performance of Kea Tawana’s life and how constructing reality can be both advantageous and destructive.

A black and white bust shot of Bempa looking forwards with a serene and powerful expression. He is black and wears his hair short cut in a fade. His chest juts out forwards proudly in his collared cross hatched shirt.
Photo: Vessel Day
  • Reviews

Afrofusion, Bempa’s Way

Zoe Farnsworth

“Untitled” explodes with queer black joy as Bempa gives the audience his own version of a good time.

A group of dancers wearing various multi-colored shirts sit in chairs arranged in a circle in the center of a church meeting room. They are surrounded by intricate stained glass windows, warm wooden flooring, and off-white painted walls. As they sit, they raise their arms above their heads and smile at one another.
Photo: Helio Ha
  • Interviews

Tango – I Think About It All the Time

Rachel DeForrest Repinz

Tango Therapy Project offers community, connection, and joy.

A dancer dips into a low second position, leaning over her right knee, chest and chin lifted, an open right hand reaching. Her silver top and the billowing folds of her skirt shimmer in the blueish light. Behidn her a row of dancers standing in gowns of different constructions and colors, sparkling and reflecting as behind them a video of a field path plays, one dancer in a yellow dress walking on screen.
Photo: Maria Baranova
  • Reviews

Multilayered Memory in a Feminist Timescape

Emilee Lord

Jasmine Hearn’s Memory Fleet: Beloved, Let’s Cross

A photo from Nami Yamamoto’s work of an Asian femme with blunt bangs and a shoulder-length haircut, standing open-mouthed. This image is translucently superimposed onto another image of two dancers wearing colorful tshirts and sweats, engaging in physical scores.
Photo: Elyse Mertz
  • Reviews

40-years-old and still kicking

ankita

Opening night at the Performance Mix Festival

Two bodies are centered in the image, their brown skin a vibrant complement to the red skin tight garments they wear. One dancer balances on her coccyx bone and hands while supporting a tall figure lushly leaning against the seated dancer's two feet.
Photo: Mark Garvin
  • Reviews, Write Back Atchas

Temperature Check

Noel Price-Bracey

Tommie-Waheed Evans’s World Premier of in case of fire, speak

maura nguyễn donohue lunges forward onto one foot with her arms slicing outwards from her back. She wears a mustard yellow button-down shirt, navy blue coat, grey pants, and vibrant blue sneakers. She is framed by the grey-shirted backs of Shannon Yu and Rami Margron, and the darkness behind her.
Photo: Marcus Middleton
  • Reviews

There is Something Happening in the Basement of Judson Church

Rachel DeForrest Repinz

The relentless drive of Pink Fang’s “The Table.”

A spacious dance studio with a gray floor, mirrored walls, and colorful geometric murals is shown during a rehearsal for First Floor Spectrum. In the foreground, two people interact through expressive movement: one stands with an arm extended overhead while the other kneels and reaches upward toward the raised hand. Additional people are visible in the background practicing choreography, while another person stands near the right side of the room, directing. The studio contains chairs, exercise equipment, and a cluster of colorful balloons near the back wall. Natural light enters from windows along the left side of the space.
Photo: Bridgette Ivkovich
  • Write Back Atchas

Transcendental Resistance: A Write Back Atcha

Emily “Lady Em” Culbreath

A collective reflection on Vince Johnson’s Original Scrap & First Floor Spectrum.

An empty well lit back stage space, with flats, and other equipment leaning to each side.
  • thINKpieces

The Adrenaline Cliff

Emerson Valentina

Surviving the Dance Gig Economy

The West Philadelphia High Dance Ensemble performs in front of an audience seated around the perimeter of the room. The dancers stand close to each other with their arms raised mid-clap overhead. Some dancers wear long evergreen or rose colored dresses, while others are dressed in black pants and a white button-down shirt. One dancer stands in front of the group wearing a preacher’s robe. The ensemble resembles a lively church congregation.
Photo: Courtesy of Black Dance Confab
  • News, Reviews

Celebrating Philadelphia’s Black Dance Legacies

Caitlin Green

“Without [them] we wouldn’t have had a portal to come through.”