In collaboration with Operation Unite, we are pleased to announce the presentation of They Dance For Rain: A Slideshow at the Hudson Area Library on Tuesday, August 5 at 7pm. They Dance For Rain is a dance-making project that works with arts-for-social-change organizations in Nairobi, Kenya. It is created and directed by action-based dance artist Stefanie Weber in collaboration with fine art photographer Monika Pizzichemi. Both artists are Berkshire County natives and have studios based in Pittsfield, MA.
Since January of 2012, They Dance For Rain has brought tap shoes and the art form of Tap Dance to people with an interest and need for this unique kind of artistic self-expression. They also bring hoops to dance with and teach others the skills of making long-lasting dance hoops. They bring visibility to an otherwise unrepresented population of slum and ghetto dancers and dwellers through photography and film. In this area of the world, Tap Dance is still quite young and the eagerness to learn it is immense. Through this continuing global exchange of artistic dialogue, They Dance For Rain inspires a new generation of tap dancers.
The slideshow presentation will feature select photographs, videos and stories from Weber and Pizzichemi’s 2013 and 2014 residencies in Nairobi working with four organizations that support the performing arts in underserved areas: Shangilia Child Rescue Center, VOCAL (Voices of Change All Over), Banjuka Dance Program and GoDown Arts Center. The artists will take time to tell stories and announce further upcoming plans for photo exhibits, fundraising events and artistic expansion of the project.
This program is made possible in part with public funds from the Decentralization Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered through the Community Arts Grants Program by the Greene County Council on the Arts.