Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC)

MANCC is excited to welcome It’s Showtime NYC! for their first MANCC residency from Sept 22 to Oct 4, 2024 to further develop their latest work “Pyramid.” It’s Showtime NYC! is a company of dancers and musician with an acclaimed history of performing on New York’s streets and subways and employs both original musical composition and dance work to embody an artistic trade-off that animates each dancers’ daily struggles and triumphs as live building blocks of the pyramid.

Image Description: A black-and-white photo of a group of dancers in dark clothing performing on a stage is set within a black and yellow post detailing their upcoming MANCC residency.

MANCC congratulates all 2024 MAP Fund grantees including our MANCC artists: AXIS Dance Company (October 5 – 18, 2014, April 1 – 21, 2007) now with guest choreographers Ben Levin and Nadia Adame); Aparna Ramaswamy, Ranee Ramaswamy and Ashwini Ramaswamy from Ragamala Dance Company (2015 Written in Water Partnership Project as McKnight Artist Fellows); UBW Partnership Fellow Marjani Forté-Saunders (2018 Memoirs of a...Unicorn residency); Jonathan González (2019 Lucifer Landing II residency); 2022 Site-Visit Artist Maura Garcia, now working with Sarah Prosper and Yura Sapi; Edisa Weeks (2020 3 Rites: Life, Liberty, Happiness residency); and Visual Artist Lelis Brito (with MANCC Artist Jinza Thayer 2023 From Tokyo to Brooklyn: A Jagged Journey residency).

MANCC is delighted to welcome Returning Archive and Choreographic Fellow Miguel Gutierrez, who will be in residency at MANCC from August 25 to September 8, 2024, for his eighth residency since 2006, and second as part of MANCC’s Archive Residency Program. While at MANCC, Gutierrez will be further developing his latest dance project, “Super Nothing” and working with collaborators, Jay Carlon (LA), Justin Faircloth (NYC), Wendell Gray (NYC), and Evelyn Sanchez (LA), lighting designer, Carolina Ortiz, and composer, Rosana Cabán. "Super Nothing" will premiere at New York Live Arts in the 24-25 season as part of the 23-24 Randjelović/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist program. 



Caption: MANCC Returning Archive and Choreographic Fellow Miguel Gutierrez  
Image Description: A black-and-white headshot of MANCC artist Miguel Gutierrez

MANCC is pleased to share that Visiting Artist DaEun Jung (CA), who came to MANCC for a post-premiere residency from January 9-20, 2024 to prepare her work, NORRI, for tour, had her Jacob’s Pillow premiere of the work on Friday, August 23 on the Henry J. Leir Stage. NORRI, a group dance project with Pansori singer Melody Shim, and musician Daniel Corral reimagines traditional Korean dance vocabulary through diverse cultural influences, drawing inspiration from ancestral Korean classical and folk-dance practices. Jung’s early investigations into the work began at MANCC Forward Dialogues in 2019 with Shim. 

dance

Photo 1: (L-R) Arletta Anderson, Tulsi Shah, Jack Ironstone and Chantal Cherry perform “NORRI” in a work-in-progress showing. 
Image Description: Four dancers in a rainbow array of shirts and puffy pants move through choreography in front of a backdrop of numbers on a black screen. 

Photo 2: Jung and collaborators, Melody H. Shim and Daniel Corall, work in the studio. 
Image Description: Three people sit in the studio surrounded by laptops and a microphone, observing something out of the camera’s view. 

Photo 3: Jung, Writer-in-Residence Ajani Brannum, and Stage Manager Amanda Eno discuss "NORRI” in the Black Box studio. 
Image Description: Three people standing and sitting in a Black Box studio talk.

Photo 4: Shah, Anderson, Cherry, Ironstone, and FSU faculty member, Farai Malianga, work during a vocal recording session. 
Image Description: Four people stand around a microphone and recording equipment while a fifth person adjusts the equipment for the others in a Black Box studio.

NAKA Dance Theater returns to MANCC in October to develop their new work, "Dismantling Tactic X"! Their site visit in April and pre-residency research has included inspiring conversations with FSU professors and community leaders including Co-Founder of the Tallahassee Bail Fund and School of Dance Faculty Dr. Hannah Schwadron, Communication Professor Felecia Jordan, Executive Director of the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights Terry Coonan, Director of the Public Interest Law Center and Director of the Children’s Advocacy Clinic, Dr. Paolo Annino, Civic Engagement Programs Coordinator at the Center for Leadership & Service Liz Iaconis, and Elaine Webb and Anne Meisenzahl with Big Bend AFTER Reentry Coalition. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting project!

Photo 1: NAKA Dance Theater’s co-founders, Jose Ome Navarrete Mazatl and Debby Kajiyama, meet with Professor Terry Coonan - Executive Director of Florida State University Center for the Advancement of Human Rights.
Image Description: Five people sit at a restaurant table, with notebooks and cups on the table.

Photo 2: Mazatl and Kajiyama speak with Elaine Webb and Anne Meisenzahl from Big Bend AFTER Reentry Coalition. Image Description: People sit at a wooden table surrounded by notebooks, various drinks and paper plates of food.

Photo 3: Mazatl and Kajiyama in the MANCC studio during site visit. Image Description: Man and woman stand back to back in front of a red curtain.

Photos 4: Mazatl and Kajiyama, meet with Dr. Felecia Jordan, FSU Communications Professor. Image Description: People sit at a wooden picnic table, smiling, talking and drinking coffee.

MANCC celebrates the 12th annual Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival, hosted by Mr. Antoine Hunter, Purple Fire Crow, and his Urban Jazz Dance Company (UJDC). The Festival is taking place at Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco August 9 -11, 2024. Mr. Hunter, Director, Ms. Zahna Simon, Assistant Director, and their UJDC company came to MANCC from March 31 to April 9, 2023 to work on ASL Dance, a dance genre involving American Sign Language and dance, incorporating jazz music with his own Deaf rhythms. Their works were then shared on the 11th Annual Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival in summer 2023.

Image 1 Caption: Antoine Hunter directs his company dancers during his 2023 residency.
Image Description: A Black man observes a group of people in the studio while they dance.

Image 2 Caption: Antoine Hunter speaks during his in-progress showing in the studio.
Image Description: A Black man in a red shirt stands in the forefront of the shot, framed by three dancers in the background.

Image 3 Caption: Antoine Hunter’s Urban Jazz Dance Company (UJDC) moves through choreography during the in-progress showing in the studio.
Image Description: A group of dancers stand in a wide position with their arms stretched out in opposite directions in the studio.

We are thrilled to announce the 2024-2025 season artists and look forward to welcoming the Forward Dialogues artists to MANCC next week!

Forward Dialogues - Aug 11- 24, 2024
Miguel Gutierrez - August 25-September 8 2024
It’s Showtime NYC! - September 22-October 4, 2024
NAKA Dance Theater - October 11-22, 2024
Pioneer Winter - November 1-11, 2024
Beth Gill - January 5-17, 2025

Image 1 Caption: MANCC Forward Dialogues Artist Laboratory with support from the National Endowment for the Arts Aug 11-24, 2024
Image Description: A group of people sit in a circle and lie on the floor.

Image 2 Caption: Miguel Gutierrez Archive Fellow with support from the Mellon Foundation “Super Nothing” Aug 25-Sept 8, 2024
Image Description: A man with salt-and-pepper hair and a trimmed beard wearing a button-up shirt smiles at the camera.

Image 3 Caption: It’s Showtime NYC! Artist Communities Alliance in partnership with Howard Gilman + Mertz Gilmore for NYC-Based Dance Pilot Consortium Program “Pyramids” September 22-October 4, 2024
Image Description: A group of diverse dancers wearing black clothing dance in front of a screen on stage.

Image 4 Caption: NAKA Dance Theater Visiting Artists with support from the National Endowment for the Arts “Dismantling Tactic X” October 11-22, 2024
Image Description: A man and a woman stand in front of a mural-style background, smiling at the camera.

Image 5 Caption: Pioneer Winter Visiting Artist “DJ Apollo” November 1-11, 2024
Image Description: A man in a black tank top sits on a chair in a black-and-white photo.

Image 6 Caption: Beth Gill Artist Communities Alliance in partnership with Howard Gilman + Mertz Gilmore for NYC-Based Dance Pilot Consortium Program “Assemblage, or rather Assemblahhhhhge” January 5-17, 2025

MANCC is thrilled to announce its third iteration of MANCC Forward Dialogues (MFD), to take place August 11-24, 2024, facilitated by Yanira Castro, Makini and Joseph Hall. This year’s seven pairs of artists, selected by the facilitators from a field-wide nomination and application process, are: Antonius Tin Bui (CT) and Jeric Smith (WA); Benji Hart (IL) and Edrimael Delgado Reyes (PR); Caleb Dowden (LA) and HighHealDoula (LA); Majesty Royale-Jackson (NC) and Graciella Ye’Tsunami (NY); Kimiko Tanabe (NY) and Nora Alami (IL); John Maria Gutierrez (NY) and Irisdelia Garcia (NY); and Rebecca Fitton (CA) and Emily Hansel (CA). Congratulations all!

This 2024 MANCC Forward Dialogues is made possible, in part, with renewed support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Image 1 Caption: Yanira Castro (NY), Makini (NC) and Joseph Hall (PA)
Image 2 Caption: Majesty Royale-Jackson (NC) and Graciella Ye’Tsunami (NY)
Image 3 Caption: Caleb Dowden (LA) and HighHealDoula (LA)
Image 4 Caption: Rebecca Fitton (CA) and Emily Hansel (CA)
Image 5 Caption: Benji Hart (IL) and Edrimael Delgado Reyes (PR)
Image 6 Caption: Antonius Tin Bui (CT) and Jeric Smith (WA)
Image 7 Caption: Kimiko Tanabe (NY) and Nora Alami (IL)
Image 8 Caption: John Maria Gutierrez (NY) and Irisdelia Garcia (NY)

Image Description: This post consists of 8 slides. The first slide has 3 black and white headshots of the three facilitators and the following seven slides have black and white headshots of two paired participants per slide (fourteen participants total). These headshots are arranged in grids with MANCC’s bright yellow logo, “Forward Dialogues Emerging Artist Laboratory” and the National Endowment for the Arts logo.

Visiting Artist Netta Yerushalmy’s latest work, “Movement”, will be performed at the American Dance Festival, Reynolds Industries Theater at Duke University on July 2, 2024. Yerushalmy came to MANCC for her second residency January 18-31, 2022, during which she further developed this work with her collaborators including seven performers, dramaturg/writer, composer (working remotely) and costume designer. The piece originally premiered on March 17, 2022 at PEAK Performances in Montclair, New Jersey.

Netta Yerushalmy "MOVEMENT" Research at MANCC in 2022 January 18 - 31, 2022 This residency was supported, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Mellon Foundation Collaborators in Residence: Khalifa…

MANCC is delighted to share that Returning Choreographic Fellow Rosie Herrera, who came to MANCC in 2010 and again in 2018, is the inaugural recipient of the $50,000 Knight Choreography Prize, of which $20,000 in programmatic support will be co-designed with NCCAkron, Akron being a Knight Foundation city. During her 2018 MANCC residency, Herrera worked on “Make Believe”, an evening-length dance-theater work that explores magic, celebrity worship and romantic love through the lens of ritual and religious spectacle.
https://www.nccakron.org/_files/ugd/ad7034_0a74f43626f74dea9b997ef821e3191f.pdf

Photo Credit: Chris Cameron

MANCC celebrates FSU Alumnus and Choreographic Fellow Darrell Jones, who has been awarded one of the twelve inaugural Platform Awards from the Walder Foundation. Jones has come to MANCC twice for residencies, once in 2012-’13 and again in 2020-’21 for the development of “Hoo-Ha (for your eyes only)” and “CLUTCH!”, the most recent of which furthered his archival research around the work of his late father, the eminent Dr. William R. Jones.

Image 1: FSU Alumnus Choreographic Fellow, Darrell Jones moves in the studio during his 2020-2021 MANCC archive residency.

Image 2: Darrell Jones works with Ralph Lemon in the studio during his 2020-2021 MANCC archive residency.

Image 3: Darrell Jones, J’ Sun Howard and Damon Green rehearse “Hoo-Ha (for your eyes only) at MANCC in 2013.

Photo Credits: Chris Cameron

MANCC celebrates FSU Alumnus and Choreographic Fellow Darrell Jones, who has been awarded one of the twelve inaugural Platform Awards from the Walder Foundation. Jones has come to MANCC twice for residencies, once in 2012-'13 and again in 2020-’21 for the development of “Hoo-Ha (for your eyes only)” and “CLUTCH!”, the most recent of which furthered his archival research around the work of his late father, the eminent Dr. William R. Jones.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment-and-culture/2024/06/20/12-chicago-area-artists-awarded-2-4-million-in-first-ever-platform-awards

la convivencia is an artist-fueled, intergenerational exchange of movement-based performing artists who self-identify as Puertorriqueñxs, having ancestry in the archipelago and living in Puerto Rico (Borikén) or in los Estados Unidos (Turtle Island). It is a call to congregate, to support one another, to share practices, and grapple with making work inside the U.S. and Puerto Rico. MANCC is excited to support three days of exchange of scoring, improvising, and dancing, intermixed with meals and conversations.

Photos: Facilitators Yanira Castro & nibia pastrana santiago followed by participants Pepe Álvarez, Javier Cardona Otero, Edrimael Delgado Reyes, Alicia Díaz, Awilda Rodríguez Lora, Alejandra Martorell, Antonio Ramos, Crystal Sepúlveda and Viveca Vázquez.

Edisa Weeks / DELIRIOUS Dances shares an excerpt, “3 RITES: Liberty”, from her full work, entitled "3 RITES: Life, Liberty, Happiness" at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater April 26 and 27. Weeks’ work originally premiered at 651 ARTS in Brooklyn, NY in November 2024, following Weeks’ MANCC residency February 25 to March 11.

MANCC is excited to welcome la convivencia participants (pictured above left to right, top to bottom), Javier Cardona Otero, Pepe Álvarez, Viveca Vázquez, nibia pastrana santiago, Awilda Rodríguez Lora, Antonio Ramos, Alicia Díaz, Alejandra Martorell, Crystal Sepúlveda, Edrimael Delgado Reyes, and Yanira Castro, April 25 - 29 for an artist-fueled, intergenerational exchange grappling with making work inside the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

MANCC Living Legacy Artist Dianne McIntyre discusses “In the Same Tongue,” a piece she developed, in part, at MANCC in Fall 2022, with New York Times’ Gia Kourlas. McIntyre, who invited FSU School of Dance students into her process while in residence, hosted the New York premiere at the new Apollo Stages in the Victoria Theater over the weekend.

The Sounds That Made Her Move: ‘Music Fed My Life Force’ The choreographer Dianne McIntyre presents “In the Same Tongue,” a dance she calls “an artistic history of myself,” at the new Apollo Stages at the Victoria Theater.

MANCC Artist Edisa Weeks shares excerpts from her work 3 Rites: Happiness” – part of the full work, entitled "3 RITES: Life, Liberty, Happiness" - alongside the Occidental Brothers Dance Band International at BlueStem Jazz Concert on April 13, 2024 in Harmony Bar and Grill in Madison, Wisconsin. Weeks’ piece originally premiered in New York City in November 2023, following Weeks’ MANCC residency where she researched the work in February 2020.

MANCC Living Legacy Artist Dianne McIntyre presents her work "In the Same Tongue" April 12-14 at the new Apollo Stages. McIntyre developed her work, in part, at MANCC in the Fall of 2022 inviting a few FSU School of Dance students into her process as part of her residency.

Beth Gill’s piece “Nail Biter” is being performed at NYU Skirball Center on April 12 & 13. These images are from Gill’s residency for “Nail Biter” at MANCC in February 2022. Gill’s MANCC residency was supported, in part, by the Mellon Foundation.

You can buy tickets here: https://nyuskirball.org/events/beth-gill-nail-biter/

MANCC welcomes NAKA Dance Theater for a site visit this week (April 9-15)! NAKA’s leadership, José One Mazatl and Debby Kajiyama, will be connecting with scholars and community members as they develop their upcoming October 2024 residency work, "Dismantling Tactic X".

Edisa Weeks / DELIRIOUS Dances "3 RITES: Life, Liberty, Happiness" Research in 2020 MANCC Residency: February 25 - March 11th, 2020 Collaborators in Residence: You-Shin Chen [Set Designer], Jerome Dent [Writer], Sarita Fellows [Costume Designer],…

MANCC Visiting Artist Mariana Valencia will share her work in progress "Arrival" with Tallahassee community and FSU students, faculty and staff at 6:30pm tonight in the Montgomery Hall Black Box. Join us!

Photos: Valencia and collaborator Jazzy Romero share work in progress with Dr. Jen Atkins Contemporary Perspectives and Professor Kara Wilkes Dance Composition classes.

Image Descriptions:
Image 1: Two women stand legs firmly planted and arms stretched in fists to their sides, singing towards the camera against a black background.
Image 2: Dancer in foreground leans over with one leg outstretched with musician sitting in front of a keyboard in the background playing guitar.
Image 3: Two dancers hold hands, smiling at one another while dancing in front of a black background

MANCC celebrates the live performance of DaEun Jung’s latest work “NORRI” on March 22, 23, and 24th at the Center for the Arts at Keyenta, in Southern Utah.

A post-premiere residency at MANCC January 9-20, 2024 with Jung, four dancers, Pansori singer Melody Shim, composer Daniel Corral and embedded writer Ajani Brannum enabled further exploration around the interplay between dancers and musicians, visual/scenic elements and recording of dancers’ vocal parts and Shim’s Pansori singing. “NORRI”, which when utilizing the South Korean alphabet means play, brings together Korean folk opera, original electronic beats, irregular folk rhythms, Hangul (Korean alphabet system), and chance operation to deconstruct, reinterpret and transform classical Korean dance.

Visit mancc.org to read more about the project and see additional photos from the residency.

MANCC Living Legacy Artist Sara Shelton Mann shares her latest work “Within the heart/you get lost” on March 22 with the Dance Program at San Diego State University, performed by Mann, Jesse Zaritt and Niall Jones. The work includes creative material developed while she was in residence at MANCC with Zaritt January 23-Feb 5, 2024.

Visit https://mancc.org/artists/sara-shelton-mann-with-jesse-zaritt/ to read more about her project and see more photos from the residency.

MANCC welcomes choreographer Mariana Valencia for her first residency (March 18-31) in a multi-year residency series to explore her latest project, "Arrival." Valencia will collaborate with interdisciplinary artist Jazzy Romero to transform "Arrival" through improvisation, pushing the boundaries of movement and sound.

Congratulations to Joanna Koetze, a 2024 recipient of a Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA) grant award in the category of Dance. Theater artist Tei Blow (who collaborated with MANCC Artist David Neumann) and composer/musician James Lo (a collaborator with MANCC Artist Neil Greenberg) also received FCA grants in the categories of Performance Art/Theater and Music/Sound, respectively.

MANCC celebrates the live performance of Living Legacy Artist Dianne McIntyre’s latest work “In the Same Tongue” at Reynolds Industries Theater at Duke Arts on February 16 and 17, 2024. “In the Same Tongue,” a vibrant movement, sound and language-based work with poetry by Obie-winning playwright Ntozake Shange and original music by renowned American composer and cellist Diedre Murray, was further developed by McIntyre at MANCC November 2022 alongside five dancers and four musicians, as well as FSU’s School of Dance students.

Get a glimpse into the research behind the work in this MANCC video.

Dianne McIntyre "In the Same Tongue" Research at MANCC in 2022 MANCC Residency: November 6 - 18, 2022 Collaborators in Residence: Brianna Rhodes, Christopher Page-Sanders, Demetia Hopkins, Kamryn Vaulx, Shaquelle Charles [Dancers],…

During their recent residency, Legacy Artist Sara Shelton Mann and collaborator Jesse Zaritt conducted two movement-based workshops for students, faculty and community. These improvisational workshops, based on Mann’s teaching methodologies and pedagogic philosophy that have been in development over her 60-year career as a choreographer, performer and teacher, gave Mann the opportunity to test specific ideas to be included in her soon to be published manuscript “Moving Alchemy.”

Photo 1 Caption: Sara Shelton Mann and Jesse Zaritt

Photo description: Two dancers stand on a gray Marley floor, with their bodies facing the camera and a red curtain behind them. They both have the right knee bent slightly, right arm extended out to the side with a fi**ed hand, and the left arm bent, with the left-hand grasping near the right elbow.

Photo 2 Caption: Students and community members engage in an exercise, as part of the workshop hosted by Mann and Zaritt.

Photo description: Multiple dancers outside on a green space. Two dancers stand on a sidewalk, smiling towards the camera; two other dancers stand in the grass with their backs to the camera and a tree in front of them; finally, two other dancers have a side profile to the camera and are facing the sidewalk.

Photo 3 Caption: Sara Shelton Mann and Jesse Zaritt's talk with students and community during workshop.

Photo Description: A group of dancers standing in a circle on a gray Marley floor, with their bodies facing into the circle, eyes closed, and arms bent at a 90-degree angle, with their hands in front of them.

Photo 4 Caption: Student journaling as part of the Mann Zaritt workshop.

Picture Description: A blonde dancer lays on a gray Marley floor to write in a journal; A dancer with brown curly hair, who is further away from the camera, sits crisscrossed to journal.

MANCC celebrates Returning Choreographic Fellow Faye Driscoll, on her Obie Award for her direction of “Weathering”, a multi-sensory flesh sculpture made of bodies, sounds, scents, liquids and objects. Driscoll developed “Weathering” in part, at MANCC in February 2023, during which she worked with her performers and design team to further an extended series of highly physicalized explorations that mesh movement, vocalizations and a uniquely designed and tour-able mobile stage. Congrats Faye!

Photo: Driscoll rehearses "Weathering" during her February 2023 MANCC residency.

Image Description: Woman with brown hair wearing white shirt looks at a pile of dancers tangled together on a white platform.