FISCAL SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM

DANCE AFRIKANA

Support Project

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Since its inception in 2016, Dance Afrikana’s mission has been to create a world where people of the African Diaspora are empowered and connected through the African dance tradition, and where dancers have the safe space and platform to grow artistically and culturally. Dance Afrikana offers unique programming as the only dance company in the city teaching and offering certain dances of the Diaspora. As such, it is a valuable commodity to the community of Houston and beyond.

Dance Afrikana presents two annual productions that highlight Afro/Black dance to educate the public on important aspects of diasporic culture through dance, including Kuumba: A Celebration of Afro Dance and the Juneteenth Celebration. Both of these productions explore important elements within the African diaspora (culturally and historically), as well as engage world class performers and artists to display the artistry of the diaspora.

As a partner of Houston Metropolitan Dance, Dance Afrikana offers weekly dance classes for adults and teens. Additionally, Dance Afrikana is home to the Houston Black Dance Collective (HBDC). The mission of HBDC is to support Houston-based dance organizations and individual dancers and choreographers that are a part of the African Diaspora, and to foster a space of collaboration amongst Houston’s black dance community.

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ABOUT THE TEAM

Lindsay Gary is a multi-disciplinary professional dancer with over twenty years of dance and performance experience and six years of choreography and creative direction experience. Inspired by Katherine Dunham’s theory of memory of difference, Lindsay uses dance performance, dance-making, and dance education to inform, connect, and empower the African Diaspora. Her specializations include modern/contemporary, traditional and contemporary African dance, Caribbean dance, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian samba, jazz, tap, ballet, and hip hop.
Lindsay graduated from the University of Houston in 2012 with a BA in history and minors in dance and business. In 2015 she completed her MA in history and MPA in public policy from Texas Southern University. She has trained with prestigious companies and choreographers including the Silvestre Technique Training Institute (Brazil), Movement of the People Dance Company (NYC), and Urban Souls (Houston). In addition to this, Lindsay has not only travelled the world studying dance but has also performed on nationwide tours with Cirque Zuma Zuma (Africa’s Cirque du Soleil), and as a choreographer and background dancer for Nigerian Afrobeats artist Korede Bello, Trinidadian Soca artist T-Rock, and Solange Knowles. Lindsay is a sought-after dance teacher and has taught master classes locally and nationwide.

She is the co-founder of Pretty Cultured’s Movement Passport, a dance intensive that highlights dances of the African Diaspora and uses art to speak on social and cultural topics, and the founder and creative director of Dance Afrikana, a professional dance company that exists to connect and celebrate Africa and the Diaspora through dance. She has received numerous awards and recognition for her work including becoming a 2017-2018 Artist in Residence for Dance Source Houston which culminated in an evening-length production of her original choreography “Eleggua,” as well as being accepted into Fresh Arts’ Artist INC program for artist-entrepreneurs.

The mission of Dance Afrikana presents Kuumba: A Celebration of Afro-Dance is to curate a space for the Houston community to celebrate and learn about Kwanzaa and Afro-dance.

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