News

(Queens, NY)— On – Saturday, June 8th, 2021, Queens Theatre and The Physical Plant will present Motherland Dances, virtual dance performances by New York City based dance companies:Redhawk Native American Arts Council, Korean Traditional Music and Dance, and Oyu Oro Afro-Cuban Experimental Dance Ensemble. The premiere will take place at 7 PM EST immediately followed by a live Q&A session with the choreographers.

The performances are all original compositions, staged and recorded for the camera. The performances celebrate the culture of these diverse dance ensembles and share stories of their heritage from the feminine perspective, reminding us of the humanity of motherland and mother earth.

Tickets are free, but reservations are required to join the premiere on Queen’s Theatre’s YouTube Channel. Click on https://qt-internet.choicecrm.net/templates/QT/?event_ids=29#/events to register for the event. The performance will also be re-broadcast on Sunday June 13th at 5 PM EST. To learn more about “Motherland Dances” visit QueensTheatre.org.

About the Queens Theatre

Queens Theatre (QT) is a performing arts center located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY. Its mission is to provide high quality performances and programs that are accessible to the residents of Queens, the most diverse county in the nation. The Theatre’s work reflects and celebrates its community. Queens Theatre presents dance companies, produces, presents, and develops new works of theatre, family programming, community engagement events and initiatives, and offers a range of education programs onsite, in schools and in senior centers. In 2016, Queens Theatre launched, and has since expanded, Theatre For All (TFA), a ground-breaking initiative to advance the inclusion of disabled people in the performing arts. Since COVID-19, Queens Theatre has produced a range of digital programming – readings of new plays, wellness checks with performances for seniors, original dance showcases, a Storytellers series, an online round of its TFA training program for Deaf/Disabled actors, and more.

About the Physical Plant

The Physical Plant is a Queens-based dance production house dedicated to curatorial programming that presents the Queens dance landscape and local diversity of dance artists. Physical Plant programs include the Queensboro Dance Festival, DANCE SHORTS, and Site Moves Series.

About the Companies

Red Hawk Native American Arts Council is a not for profit organization founded and maintained by Native American artists and educators residing in the New York City area. Since 1994, the Council has been dedicated to educating the general public about Native American heritage through song, dance, theater, works of art and other cultural forms of expression. The council represents artists from North, South, Central American, Caribbean and Polynesian Indigenous cultures.

Redhawk Council produces four of the largest Native American heritage celebrations in the Northeast. The arts council also hosts festivals, workshops, theater presentations and educational programs, addressing stereotypes and fostering an awareness of Native cultures from a historical standpoint, with a focus on contemporary cultural practices. https://www.redhawkcouncil.org/

Korean Traditional Music and Dance Center of New York (KTMDC) was founded in 1987 and is the oldest established Korean performing arts organization in New York City. KTMDC specializes in teaching and performing Korean traditional music and dance. By doing so, we strive to play the role of an unofficial diplomat, and share and preserve Korea’s rich and vibrant culture with Korean-Americans as well as the surrounding community. https://ktmdc.com/

Oyu Oro Afro Cuban Experimental Dance Ensemble is the brainchild of Danys “La Mora” Pérez ─ international Afro-Cuban folklore performer, choreographer, teacher and dance ethnologist from Santiago de Cuba. The company is committed to the preservation of Afro-Cuban folklore as well as encouraging the cross-cultural understanding of the dance and music forms derived from African culture. While Oyu Oro’s traditional repertoire pays tribute to African lineages derived from the Yoruba, Congo, Carabali, Arará and Dahomean cultures of West Africa and Haiti, the popular dance choreographies also celebrate the national Cuban heritage.

Since 2007, Oyu Oro has been one of the key members of the artist rosters represented by the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, and has premiered and performed numerous presentations, which include Dance Africa, Heritage Sunday at the Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out, the Chase Latino Cultural Festival at Queens, Ailey Citigroup Theater, New Orleans Dance Festival, Harlem Havana Festival, Flint Hills International Children’s Festival at the Ordway Theater , WOFABE African Dance & Drum Festival, “World City” Series at Music Center of LA, Houston International Festival, Baruch Performing Arts Center, Rutgers University, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in Queens, CubaCaribe Dance and Music Festival in San Francisco, Aaron Davis Hall, Schaumburg Center and Harlem School of Arts as well as Teatro Mella and several dance and cultural festivals in CUBA. Since 2010, Oyu Oro has also been running the Dos Aguas Dance Program, a comprehensive dance and cultural study program for Americans and others to research in Cuba.

Oyu Oro aspires to create work that will serve as an informational tool for researchers in the academic field as well as a source of enjoyment for audiences of all ages and multicultural backgrounds who seek a greater development of “art among people.” http://www.oyuoro-afrocuban.com/