The United States Consulate General Curacao is proud to take advantage of a unique opportunity to co-sponsor the visit of Niles Ford and two colleagues of New York-based Urban Dance Collective (UDC) who will participate at the Energy Street Festival later this month. In the U.S., February is known as Black History Month.
The Urban Dance Collective will help bring to Curacao the proud tradition of Black History Month, which has long been celebrated to remember events in the history of the African diaspora. Since 1976, Black History Month has been celebrated annually with the goal of educating the American people about African-Americans’ cultural backgrounds and reputable achievements.
The visit of these accomplished dance professionals fits into this theme and will benefit the dance community as well as delight audiences of cultural events. UDC will provide dance clinics for the youth and a train-the-trainer program for teachers and educators. Also, UDC will present various events in the historical UNESCO World Heritage downtown area of Willemstad, Curacao, and other locations on the island together with local performers. The programs will take place in cooperation with Kas di Kultura, Archimedium, Prins Bernhard Culture Fund, Academy Hotel, Curacao Tourism Board, Penha, Freeport Jewelers, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Downtown Management Organization, Teatro Luna Blou, and La Tentashon, February 13-26, 2011.
UDC is a dance company working in more than one dimension. They deal with social issues of the day through visual art, spoken word, and music. Like other artists they communicate the psychological effects of social issues — poverty, war, sexual-orientation, sexism, and religion— through physical movement.
UDC works with dancers and choreographers from other dance companies, getting a chance to share ideas artistically and to witness other view points. UDC’s choreography aesthetic is a hybrid of many techniques including ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop, club dancing, and pedestrian movement.
The U.S. Consulate General is pleased to co-sponsor these events as they are a great opportunity to promote U.S. values, and foster greater tolerance and respect for diversity and cultural differences. Also, the Energy Street Festival supports local dance and cultural institutions that serve as positive youth role models.
Please visit http://www.nilesfordudc.info/home for more information about UDC.