It’s been a summer full of dancing, and the energy isn’t fading as we move into fall!
This Sunday, join us for Shekere and Afro-Cuban Dance workshops with Baba Bradley Simmons and Baba Vladimir Espinosa, presented in collaboration with Africa Unplugged and LAC. The collaboration continues on the third Sunday in September and October, leading up to a special program in September featuring The Carolina Theatre, Mambo Dinamico, El Centro Hispano, and Africa Unplugged to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. We’re building up the excitement as we prepare for the arrival of Malevo from Argentina, coming to Durham, NC! Stay tuned for more details.
*All proceeds will support the artists.
Last Fridays – August 30th!
Drumming and Dancing in Hillsborough River Park – with Bashir Shakur, Beverly Botsford, Diali Keba Cissokho, Cindy Jones, Aubrey Roze, Bru Roze and community of all ages. Including the Tain Colin’s Juggling Show! FREE & ALL are welcome.
CI + Somatics with LAC this Fall – tons of Contact Improvisation offerings are coming your way! Expect deep dives, drop-ins, and CI jams with live music, quiet smaller CI jams open to movers of all levels.
LAC is hosting a Song Circle + Grief Ritual with Alexandra “ahlay” Blakely and Laurence Cole from the West Coast in September.
And more! See below…
In rhythm,
~ LAC
Consider sustaining this movement by becoming an LAC Sustainer with a monthly contribution amount of your choice. Your presence and support is treasured and makes all the difference.
BECOME A SUSTAINER HERE
Upcoming Events
Shekere & Afro-Cuban Dance Workshops w/ Baba Bradley Simmons & Baba Vladimir Espinosa (Sunday, August 18th, 3:30 – 6:15 PM)
Last Fridays Living Arts Dancewave + Community Drumming (Friday, August 30th, 6:00 – 9:00 PM)
Hispanic Heritage Celebration with The Carolina Theatre, Mambo Dinamico, Africa Unplugged! (Sunday, September 15th)
CI + Somatics with LAC in the Fall
Song Circle with Alexandra “ahlay” Blakely and Laurence Cole (Thursday, September 12th, 6:30 – 9:00 PM)
Grief Ritual (Friday – Saturday, September 13th – 14th) – 5 spots left!!
Living Arts Dancewave (Sundays, 11:33 AM – 1:11 PM) Set weaver – Matthew Young!
Read more about each event below…
Shekere & Afro-Cuban Dance Workshops w/ Baba Bradley Simmons & Baba Vladimir Espinosa
Sundays, August 18th
3:30 – 6:15 PM
@ Living Arts Collective
410 West Geer Street
Shekere workshop with master percussionist Baba Bradley Simmons 3:30 – 4:30 PM.
Afro-Cuban dance with Baba Vladimir Espinosa 4:45 – 6:15 PM.
Mark your calendar for the 3rd Sunday’s of the month!
Tix are only $20 for each class or $30 for both.
These classes are for all levels and ages.
Register here!
Last Fridays Living Arts Dancewave + Community Drumming
Friday, August 30th
6:00 – 9:00 PM
@ Hillsborough River Park
228 S Churton St
Drum | Dance | Art | Play | Connection in Nature | All Ages | Family Friendly | FREE
LAC Community Drumming 6:00 – 7:00 PM facilitated by Bashir Shakur with support from Beverly Botsford, Diali Cisshoko, Cindy Jones and more!!
Tain Colin’s Juggling Show! 7:00 – 7:30 PM
Living Arts Dancewave facilitated by Aubrey and Bru Roze set woven by Emily Alexander 7:30 – 9:00 PM
Family Painting with Jahde Art!
Please Note – We have a goal for this event to be FREE to the public to encourage accessibility for all. Please donate to the artists fund here if you are able. Thank you!
What to bring? A drum, a chair, and a friend.
Every Last Friday of the month through October 2024
In collaboration with Hillsborough Arts Council and Drumming for Wellness NC!
CI + Somatics with LAC in the Fall
Deep dives, drop-ins, and jams for movers of all levels. Facebook events are linked for each event~ thanks for sharing!
Deep Dives: 12-Week Series on Weeknights, Weekend Intensive Sept 12-15 ~ These are our most substantive offerings, meant for those wanting to dive deep with a committed group and truly level-up their practice.
Beginner-Friendly, Open-Level~ Accessible to those with little to no experience, also satisfying for those wanting to strengthen the foundations of their practice.
Sept 12-15~ Contact Improvisation Fundamentals Intensive at Dreaming Stone. We are hosting our ever first residential retreat! CI classes taught by CJ O’Reilly and Toni Craige. Delicious meals, jams, and swimming in the river~ yummy late summer fun! Dreaming Stone Arts and Ecology Center, Western NC. Register through Dreaming Stone’s website.
Tuesday Nights~ Spirit and Technique of Contact Improvisation, Open-Level, with em liptow and Len Foyle. For anyone new to CI or wanting a refresher on the foundations. 7-9pm, Sept 17- Dec 17, Shared Visions Retreat Center.
Intermediate+~ Designed for those with significant previous experience in CI. Jams with guided warm-ups and live, improvised music are included for series participants!
Monday Nights~ Study Group for Dedicated Improvisers with Ray Schwartz: Mapping Collective Geographies: Collective Care Approaches to Collaborative Improvisation. Nourishing explorations in solo, partnering, and ensemble. 7-9pm, Sept 16-Dec 16, Shared Visions Retreat Center.
Wednesday Nights~ Spirit and Technique of Contact Improvisation, Intermediate+, with Coda Badamo-Connors and Toni Craige. For those with more experience ready to level-up the athleticism, listening, and creativity in their CI practice. 7-9pm, Sept 18- Dec 18, Shared Visions Retreat Center.
Weekend Events ~ Big fun on our Launch weekend, and more workshops TBD~
Launch Weekend, 8/31-9/1~ Celebrate the launch of our Fall season and try out classes with the teachers of our intensive programs.
Workshop with Ray Schwartz~ Mapping Collective Geographies: Collective Care Approaches to Collaborative Improvisation. Delicious dancing with Ray! 8/31, 10am-1pm. LAC Satellite Location, Shared Visions Retreat Center.
“Welcome Back” CI Jam with Live Improvised Music and Guided Warm-up by Toni Craige~ 7 Flavors of Jam Series, Traveling Edition~ Celebrate a return to jamming and get a taste of Toni’s teaching. 8/31, 2-5pm. LAC Satellite Location, Shared Visions Retreat Center.
- Contact Improvisation Fundamentals with em liptow and Len Foyle~ Come try CI for the first time or re-engage with the basics from a new perspective. 9/1, 3:30-6:00, Downtown LAC Location, 410 West Geer Street.
Jams ~ Jams provide a space for free-play and integration of class material. Mark your calendars ( :
7 Flavors of Jam, Traveling Edition: CI Jams with Live Improvised Music and Guided Warm-ups!~ Seven jams each with their own special flavor~ the musicians and warm-up leader will be different for each jam. Saturday, 8/31, last Mondays (9/30, 10/28, 11/25) and 2nd Wednesdays (10/9, 11/13, 12/11).
Simple Jams~ No guided warm-up or music, just a space dance and create beauty together. Space lovingly held by LAC CI teachers. Third Thursdays (10/17, 11/21, 12/19).
Toni and Len improvising in a class taught by Ray Schwartz. Photo credit~ Landon Mark Adams.
CI Fundamentals Intensive at Dreaming Stone
Thursday Sept 12-Sunday Sept 15, CI Fundamentals Intensive at Dreaming Stone~ We are hosting our first residential CI retreat at Dreaming Stone Arts and Ecology Center in the Western NC Mountains! This retreat provides an immersive dive into the fundamental skills, concepts, and techniques of Contact Improvisation practice, providing a solid foundation for a lifetime of play. It is a great opportunity to get your CI practice started for the first time or to deepen your engagement with the form. There will be CI classes taught by CJ O’Reilly (Asheville) and Toni Craige (Durham), discussions of the history and philosophy of CI in the evenings and over delicious meals, jams, and swimming in the river~~ yummy late summer fun!
Please share with anyone who might benefit!
Check out Dreaming Stone’s website for more images of this gorgeous venue. Photo credit~ Lanie McKeever.
Living Arts Dancewave – Sundays @LAC
Sundays
11:33 AM – 1:11 PM
@ Living Arts Collective
410 West Geer St, Durham
Inspired by Ecstatic Dance through the lens of Ousia (oo-see-ah), the Living Arts Dancewave is an immersive dance experience with curated music woven in a wave format. Living Arts Dancewaves are inclusive and intergenerational spaces for people to move freely and express themselves creatively.
The Living Arts Collective facilitates experiences that are welcoming of all ages, physical bodies, cultural backgrounds, identities and dance abilities. We stand in authentic, lasting solidarity with our BIPOC & LGBTQ+ friends and family. Dancewaves start slowly, build to a peak and then return to stillness, during which time you will get to experience the euphoria of music, rhythm and connection. We co-create an environment intentionally free from verbal conversation and cell phones to support a more fully embodied experience.
Matthew Young has the set this Sunday!
CARE TO SHARE: build community and share resources.
Bring items you no longer need and feel free to take what you like! (NO MONEY EXCHANGE)
Sliding Scale: $10-30 (suggested $20) *no one turned away for lack of funds.
If you’d like to support the dancewave, feel free to show up early or stay late to help us set up and break down <3
(click on date when registerings)
Song Circle with ahlay Blakely and Laurence Cole
Thursday, September 12th
6:30 – 9:00 PM
@ Shared Visions Retreat Center
3717 Murphy School Road
This is a participatory singing adventure and everyone is invited–absolutely no experience required. Laurence and ahlay are song carriers and grief tenders. They blend song, body percussion, dance, stillness, breath and silence with the deepest intention to support others in remembering their inherent birthright to singing and rhythm. Their songs are invitations to move stagnated emotions through our bodies.
Sliding Scale Tickets: $22-66 ($33 suggested)
Grief Retreat with Laurence Cole and ahlay Blakely
Friday, September 13-Saturday, September 14
6:30 – 9:00 PM
@ Shared Visions Retreat Center
3717 Murphy School Road
Laurence and ahlay will facilitate this intimate, two-day grief ritual with 30 participants. In this powerful ritual, we will use singing, poetry, movement, practice in sacred listening, sharing, witnessing and being witnessed to help each other process grief. This space is an opportunity to move through grief in whatever shape or form it comes in– wailing, numbness, shame, rage, trembling, stillness, or something else.
5 SPOTS LEFT!! Scholarships are available!! If this cost is a barrier, we encourage you to request a community-supported sliding scale ticket ($75-350) by filling out this form!
Tickets: $475-575