The next three cities include Austin, Texas, where we meet dancers Angie Egea and Audrey Guerrero, aka Kueen & Queen Non-Binary Afro Latin Dance couple, who share their love for latin dancing; we then go to San Francisco to meet Sean Dorsey, the first transgender modern dance choreographer and founder of the Fresh Meat Festival; and then visit Columbus, Ohio to meet Tyedric Hill, a multidisciplinary Black dancer who is passionate about the Lindy Hop dance style.
All episodes will be available to watch for free at kqed.org/arts and on YouTube.com/kqedarts
Season Five Schedule
Washington DC: Figure Skating
March 2, 2022
Traditionally a predominantly white sport and art form practiced by wealthy families, figure skating is entering a new era as BIPOC and non-traditional skaters redefine who and what a skater can be. Through the organization he founded, Diversify Ice, Joel Savary supports aspiring skaters of color with mentorship and scholarships, while connecting up and coming skaters, like 12-year-old Zuri Jones, with former Olympians and national champions like Tai Babilonia and Atoy Wilson.
Sacramento, CA: Taiko
March 30, 2022
In California’s capital city, once home of a thriving Japanese American community before World War II, Taiko master Tiffany Tamaribuchi established the city’s first taiko group. She also founded the first all-women taiko ensemble in North America, Jodaiko, which has expanded opportunities for female taiko performers. Attending Japanese Obon festivals as a child in Northern California, Tamaribuchi was enthralled by the Japanese art form that combines powerful percussion, martial arts and dance that is historically practiced in ceremonies and festivals at local shrines or temples.
Tucson, AZ: Border Dances
April 27, 2022
Sixty miles from the US-Mexico border, contemporary dancer and choreographer Yvonne Montoya creates work drawing on her Mexican-American heritage and family stories, including her father’s experience as a farmer laborer in the government-sponsored Bracero Program. Recognizing the few opportunities offered to brown dancers and choreographers in the concert dance world in the Southwest, she founded Safos Dance Theater. Montoya stages her own work and creates opportunities for other Latinx dancers in the region to express their stories and identities through a range of styles, including folklorico, other Latin styles and hip-hop.
Phoenix, AZ: Indigenous Dance
May 11, 2022
Travel to Phoenix, Arizona and meet Kenneth Shirley, a Native American dancer of the Diné tribe and founder of Indigenous Enterprise, an intertribal dance group. After growing up and never seeing his culture represented correctly in mainstream media, he formed Indigenous Enterprise which is composed of members from Canada and the U.S who travel the world sharing their traditions in hopes of keeping Native culture alive for future generations.
Austin, TX: Queer Salsa and Afro-Cuban Dance
May 25, 2022
Dancers Angie Egea and Audrey Guerrero, aka Kueen & Queen Non-Binary Afro Latin Dance couple, came together through their love of Latin dancing. They’re also hoping to break heteronormative ideas surrounding the practice of partner dances. Angie started her formal training at 14 in her hometown of Colombia, and Audrey, born in the Dominican Republic, began ballet training at the age of 4. After moving to the United States, they reconnected to their roots through Afro Latin dances — and began their journey performing together specializing in salsa and Afro-Cuban dance movement.
San Francisco, CA: Transgender Dance Stories
June 22, 2022
Meet Sean Dorsey, the first touring transgender modern dance choreographer and founder of the Fresh Meat Festival in San Francisco, which centers trans and queer bodies, voices and experiences in contemporary dance. When Dorsey moved to San Francisco in 2000, he discovered a groundswell of trans artistry in the city. But opportunities for trans dancers in contemporary dance were still relatively non-existent — just as they were nationally. Dorsey set out to build the missing stage for him and his community, creating countless works that blend queer partnering, physical theater and storytelling, and new spaces like the Fresh Meat Festival.
Columbus, OH: Lindy Hop
July 20, 2022
When multidisciplinary Black dancer Tyedric Hill moved to this Midwestern city steeped in jazz history, he discovered and fell in love with Lindy Hop, the energetic jazz dance style. Since then, he’s earned various competition titles at events such as Lindyfest and The Uptown Swingout, and has been tracing the lineage of the dance back to its Black American roots. Between performing, teaching kids and judging Lindy Hop contests locally, we follow Hill back to Harlem, the birthplace of dance, and into the dancehalls of the International Lindy Hop competition in New York City, where Lindy Hoppers from around the world come together every year for World Lindy Hop Day recognized May 5th.
Three more episodes to follow in Summer 2022.
Interactive Features
Additionally, KQED will also offer special interactive features including how-to dance videos and other companion videos, plus curated music playlists. Audiences can find interactive features online at kqed.org/arts in our individual episode write-ups and all of our video content is on YouTube.com/kqedarts.
