An all-star roster of artists help the CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI) celebrate five years as a groundbreaking model for support in the dance field. Eleven NYC choreographers — all current and former CDI residents — showcase the breathtaking depth and scope of what dance is capable of expressing. Two singular programs present everything from site-specific performance, street dance, flamenco, and tap, to classical and contemporary dance.

PROGRAM A (March 20 & 22 at 7:30pm)

Heidi Latsky Dance (ON DISPLAY pre-show installation)
Sonia Olla & Ismael Fernandez (Ella)
Andrew Nemr (except of Rising to the Tap)
Miki Orihara (Shirabyoshi)
Loni Landon Dance Project
Urban Bush Women (Give Your Hands to Struggle)

Program A features a pre-show installation of Heidi Latsky Dance’s living sculpture court, ON DISPLAY; flamenco duo Sonia Olla & Ismael Fernandez; an excerpt from tap master Andrew Nemr’s autobiographical show, Rising to the Tap; a solo by former Graham Company principal dancer Miki Orihara; Princess Grace Choreography fellow Loni Landon; and Urban Bush Women’s signature solo, Give Your Hands to Struggle.

PROGRAM B (March 21 & 23 at 7:30pm)

Kinesis Project (pre-show site specific performance)
Gabrielle Lamb/Pigeonwing Dance (world premiere)
Parijat Desai (Pardon My Heart)
MBDance (Up and Down Her Back)
Ephrat Asherie Dance (excerpt of Odeon)

Program B leads audiences to the theater with an adventurous site-specific dance by Kinesis Project dance theatre, and features a world premiere by Gabrielle Lamb for her company, Pigeonwing Dance; a solo by Parijat Desai that mixes traditional Indian dance with contemporary influences; MBDance’s danced and spoken-word trio, Up and Down Her Back; and an excerpt of Ephrat Asherie Dance’s freewheeling Odeon.

Co-presented by the CUNY Dance Initiative and Baruch Performing Arts Center.

Lead funding for CDI’s 5th Year Fest is generously provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation,
with additional support from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation.