Experience
This year’s Cultural Experience will be building off of recent year’s Community Archiving initiatives to celebrate and uplift the return of the one and only Dance Plaza, through a project called Dance Dance (r)Evolution: Adams Morgan Day Dance Plaza + the Rich Yet Little-Known Legacy of Dance Culture in DC. We are so humbled and excited to announce that we were selected for the HumanitiesDC 2022-23 Festivals Series Grant, along with a cohort of brilliant Community-oriented events throughout the city. One of the main aspects of the grant is an archival interview series stewarded by Carol Foster, lovingly referred to as the Godmother of the Glocal Dance Community in DC. We will be kicking off the series with some storytelling and memory-keeping at 4:00pm at Pitango Cafe with notable dancers Tammy Hurt, Adrian Vincent James, William Caudle, and Renee Sumby. These are all artists with historical ties to Adams Morgan (the neighborhood) and or with Adams Morgan Day. They will share a historical perspective of their experiences and the event itself.
BIOS
- Carol Foster: Carol Foster is currently a Special Programs Associate for the INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACKS IN DANCE (IABD) and is working in the capacity as a PERFORMING ARTS READINESS (PAR) Emergency Preparedness Consultant for the performing arts (one of four in the country). More recently, she has been selected to be on the inaugural Culture Caucus for the Kennedy Center’s new wing, “The REACH.” This honor affords her a two-year residency to work and present at the new wing. She is a founding member of IABD and served on its board for many years until stepping down to take a staff position. Ms. Foster has successfully raised funds via grants and contributions throughout her arts career. Ms. Foster has personally worked as a choreographer, performer, writer, director, arts administrator, and visual artist. She has been involved with many special projects/programs related to the arts and arts education funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, the Rockefeller Foundation, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and more. Ms. Foster worked closely and tirelessly with the President’s Committee on the Arts’ Turnaround Arts Initiative during President Barak Obama’s administration. Through this effort, she was invited to bring students she trained to perform at the White House on ten occasions. She has worked with noted artists, including YoYo Ma, Kerry Washington, Alfre Woodard, Misty Copland, and Damien Woetzel (President of Julliard). She is the recipient of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Mayor’s Art Award, the highest honor afforded artists in the District of Columbia. Ms. Foster was also recognized in the United States Congressional Record for her outstanding work with young people and the arts. Ms. Foster was an artistic consultant for the Turnaround Arts National office housed as an affiliate program of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Foster has countless hours in community service and has provided advice and support to aspiring arts students, instructors, future company directors, arts organizations, studios, etc. Her network and resource in the Black dance community expand from coast to coast.
- Tammy Hurt: Tammy Hurt, a native Washingtonian, started her dance training at the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet and later became a member of the Capitol Ballet Company under the direction of Doris Jones and Claire Haywood. After an extensive dance career with some of the greatest choreographers of the times such as Louis Johnson, Kevin Jeff, George Faison, Hinton Battle, and Mike Malone, to name a few, Ms. Hurt decided to devote her life to teaching. She spent ten years as the Director of the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet. There she directed and choreographed The Nut-Kracker and Black Heritage for youth dancers. Ms. Hurt has taught ballet at Howard University and choreographed for the Duke Ellington School.
- Adrian Vincent James: Adrian Vincent James was born and raised in Washington DC. He received his early training from Mike Malone and studied at the Jones-Haywood School, School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, the Harkness School, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and The Ailey School. James is the first African American to have danced with the Houston Ballet under Ben Stevenson. His other professional experience includes directing; choreographing; and performing for The Eglevsky Ballet, Capitol Ballet, and the Laverne Reed Dancers. From 1981 to 1986, James attended Howard University to earn his BFA in Drama, Directing and Theatrical Production and from 1991 to 1993, American University to earn his MA in Dance. He has taught and choreographed for Prince George’s County Public Schools, Divine Dance Institute, Howard, and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.
- William Caudle:
- Renee Sumby:
Evolving from last year’s Memory Booth concept, another component of our creative landscape for Community Archiving is the DanceDance(r)Evolution Dance Booth powered by a tandem bike belonging to DC Bike Party, carrying a trailer salvaged from youth empowerment bike cooperative Gearin’ Up Bikes, designed by Howard University students Domenique Ross (Dance Arts, Class of 2023) and Nailah Salley (Architecture, Class of 2024, @nailahsalley18 on IG) with salvaged materials from reuse warehouse Community Forklift! “Learning about this weird little neighborhood and the history of Chocolate City has shown me that there’s more resources in a community than money could ever buy. Working on the Memory Booth concept with La Manplesa Film for last year’s Adams Morgan Day inspired me to continue practicing this kind of creative expression and unconditional love for community through reused materials and memory-keeping,” says Adams Morgan Day Cultural Heritage Coordinator Tara Vassefi.” Here we’ll launch the Adams Morgan Day TikTok channel so if you’d like to show off your rEvolutionary Moves, catch up with the Adams Morgan Day Dance Booth.
Finally, don’t miss out on a chance to hear the deeply-investigated story-telling of local legend, archivist, and videographer Eddie Becker. Make sure you wear comfortable shoes and bring plenty of water to the Free Speech Kiosk at 18th and Columbia Road across from the Starbucks at 10:00am for a two-hour time machine trip as Eddie will take us through 400 years of the neighborhood and back again. Then, departing from the same spot, from 2:00-4:00, Eddie will give us a walk-about Conflict and Consensus in Adams Morgan. “DC collects the best documentation, everything from Mar-a-Lago’s Top Secrets to boundaries established in battles with the first people who settled in what we now call Adams Morgan,” shares Eddie.
Business Shout-Outs
Weather permitting, Madam’s Organ will be blasting from the balcony Latin Blues Funk, The Moran Tripp Band, Human Country Jukebox, Exit 10, Stacy Brooks Band from 2pm and taking it indoors at 7:00.
Come be captivated by Klezmer next door at Bossa with a performance from Mrs Toretsky’s Nightmare starting at 7:30.
Down the street, sPACYcLOUd will be serving up some magical mycelia both on your plates and through the speakers! fAIRY and HYFY are a mushroom duo presenting jazz standards such by Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane and Miles Davis with a modern twist of a backdrop by DJ Shroom. The unusual combination of bass guitar and flute will leave you relaxed and wanting more. Come out for this pair’s first performance at sPACYcLOUd from 3-6PM on Adams Morgan Day!
