I A.M. Arts 2023/2024 season

I A.M. Arts produces collaborative solo dance works and global commissions that uplift and inspire our humanity; to produce educational programs that utilize the creative arts as a tool for self- development; and to spearhead community development initiatives that assist mid-career women Creatives with spiritual, professional, and economic resources to thrive.

As we seek to re-design our community development model, beginning in 2022, I A.M. Arts launches its HUB program, a space for the education, preservation, protection, dissemination, and training in African indigenous knowledge and practice through on-going workshops and artist talks by internationally recognized practitioners and scholars.

Season 2022/2023:

DANCE PERFORMANCE AND TRAINING

I A.M. Arts seeks funding to develop a research-based residency model for the advanced technical and artistic training of contemporary dancers in Minnesota.

Introducing: The Black Light Research Training Module for advanced professional dancers.

a Praxis
a Methodology
a Performance art project

Black Light is a rigorous process of self inquiry, disciplined research and analysis, and emotional recall.  Dancers learn how to study/observe the Self, a praxis of meta-cognition. They also learn sophisticated movement research and analysis techniques that will empower them to bring their research into a performative context. Black Light engages the nature, function of, qualities, and values of performance, masquerade, self love,  pleasure, liberation, and other vital concepts in the world of ritual performance.The Black Light Research Training Module will also incorporate training in embodied technologies of Black Political Thought and the Black Feminist Politic, brought to you by Master Teaching Artists both inside and outside of Minnesota. These folks will bring to this community deep wisdoms and vital conversation.   

The program is designed for advanced and professional contemporary dancers who have mastered one dance technique/style and are interested in deepening their artistry and the impact of performance via integration with other systems. 

EDUCATION

1. A Mentorship/Coaching Program open to pre-professional  dancers of colour in Minnesota. Candidates are dedicated artists who are considering a career in dance and is at least a one-year engagement. Offered free of charge to the family.
2. The Breath and Boogie movement practice is a workshop series investing in BIPOC healers, artists and activists who are on the front lines of movements for social change.  Explorations and conversations cover body conditioning; Afro-centric and indigenous philosophical approaches to movement as life practice; mantra; breath work; and community-building with like-hearted people. Include multiple facilitators and guest speakers. In-person and virtual.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

1. Introducing the HUB! An on-going space for robust training in African indigenous knowledge and practice. Welcoming guest speakers and practitioners from the local community and abroad.  Workshops include training in:

1. Traditional dances and history from Haiti, the First Black Republic
2. Traditional Sacred Dance Forms of Trinidad & Tobago and the Divine Feminine
3. Afro Cuban/Orisha dance and Caribbean histories and Caribbean futures. 
4. Embodied technologies unpacking Black Political Thought and the Black Feminist Politics.
5. Integrative health modalities and intersections of wellness and the healing arts, including various yogic lineages; womb work; meditation; and sacred martial forms.

2. A bi-annual retreat/residency program serving mid-career *women creatives, artists, healers and thought leaders. Part professional development, featuring workshops by leading practitioners--and part restorative practice, situated in a beautiful, rural setting.

You are invited to contribute to the general administration of our programs for the 2023/2024 season.

To support a specific programs list the program in the memo line.

Many thanks,

Alanna Enjalu Morris, I A.M. Arts Artistic Director

Staff members:
Katie Hare and Canaan Mattson

Advisory Board Members:
Stephanie Brown, Michael Kleber-Diggs, Lorna Morris, and Christine Van Tassel