Last weekend took us to the Kumble Auditorium for 651 ARTS’ FLY: Five First Ladies of Dance, a remarkable evening of dance by “women of a certain age”. All the performances were wonderful and I was particularly moved to see these women moving with such grace and vigor. It just goes to show you that age really is just a number. Remarkable vitality, creativity, precision and vision across the board.  It also demonstrated that after 20 years of 651 ARTS there is still so much ground to cover and work to be done when it comes to contemporary performance in a culturally-specific context. Let’s all wish 651 ARTS a happy birthday and here’s to 20 more great years!

l. to r.- Dianne McIntyre, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Germaine Acogny, Carmen de Lavallade, Bebe Miller (Photo by Victor Jouvert)

From the press release:

651 ARTS 20th season concluded with FLY: Five First Ladies of Dance at the Kumble Theater- a spectacular program featuring solo performances by five luminaries of the contemporary dance world- Carmen de Lavallade, Dianne McIntyre, Bebe Miller, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Germaine Acogny. The 7 to 14 minute solos included new work by Dianne McIntyre, Jawole Zollar and Germaine Acogny, while Bebe Miller performed her 1989 classic Rain and Carmen de Lavallade performed The Creation (1972) which was choreographed by her husband: director, choreographer, actor and designer Geoffrey Holder.

As dancers, company-founders and inspiration to many, these ground-breaking artists are first ladies in every sense of the word – they have helped shape the language and trajectory of contemporary dance, both in the U.S. and abroad, and they continue to raise the artistic bar and inspire the contemporary dance world with vital work and fresh ideas.