Stefanie Nelson Dancegroup presents The Moving Memory project: ONLY NOW a festival devoted to memory and forgetting

from Emily MT

Stefanie Nelson Dancegroup presents the 2nd Edition of The Moving Memory project: ONLY NOW on Thursday, April 20 at 7:30pm at The Broadway Presbyterian Church, 601 W. 114th Street New York, NYC. Tickets are free, though donations are encouraged. Advance reservations are requested at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/only-now-the-moving-memory-project-2nd-edition-tickets-567184854167.

Launched in 2019, The Moving Memory Project embodies its founders' vision of bringing together artists, caregivers, and seniors to create a community of care surrounding issues connected to memory loss and destigmatizing the diagnosis of dementia, with the ultimate goal of raising awareness to increase funding until a cure is found. "Works like this can help the world think and talk about Alzheimer's in important new ways" says co-producer David Shenk, whose writings on Alzheimer's and dementia garnered him international acclaim as an authority on the subject.

Program
Dancers for a Variable Population
2 teaching artists lead a 20-minute dance session for attendees

DEA Work-in-Progress
Choreographed by Stefanie Nelson and Maya Orchin
Performers: Graziella Murdocca, Maya Orchin and Mark Willis
Inspired by Massimo Bontempelli's 1925 play, Nostra Dea in which the main protagonist's personality is determined solely by the attributes of the clothes she is wearing.

Moderated Post-Performance Discussion by David Shenk

Reception
Live Jazz Music by musicians from the Manhattan School of Music and Dance Party

For more information, visit https://www.sndancegroup.org/.

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS
Stefanie Nelson (Producer, Choreographer) founded and directs StefanieNelson Dancegroup, a contemporary performance group based in NYC, and Dance Italia, an international summer dance program in Lucca, Italy. She approaches her work intuitively, distilling deeply personal ideas into highly kinetic, expressive, and provocative works rooted in cross-media collaboration with artists working in music, video, and visual arts. Her work has been described as 'instinctual, untamed, and edgy'. Entering the dance field as a performer, notably as a soloist with Anna Sokolow's Player's Project, Nelson is an accomplished teacher as well having been invited to many studios and educational institutions worldwide. The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) identified her as an 'Emerging Leader' in the field of dance providing a year-long mentorship. She's served as a Choreography panelist for NYFA's prestigious Artists' Fellowship awards and the Joyce Theater and local NYC dance festivals. Nelson recently collaborated with fashion designer Terrence Zhou for Bad Binch TONGTONG's New York Fashion Week debut with Assistant Maya Orchin. She also choreographed Plan-B, a feature film starring Diane Keaton and recently opened Motore592, a new center for contemporary practices in Lucca, IT in 2021 which hosts Dance Italia and TRY international dance program.

Maya Orchin (Choreographer, performer) is a choreographer and movement director based in New York. She has had her work presented internationally in Canada, Poland, Italy, Germany, Russia, Israel and throughout the United States. She choreographed the immersive theater show 'Post Mortem' in Montreal, Canada and was just the movement director for 'North Star' which toured in Los Angeles and Edinburgh, Scotland. She has had artistic residencies at PAF (France) and S.P.A.M. (Italy). Maya was a choreographer and performer in the live podcast tour of 'Israel Story' that toured all over the U.S. and Israel. In New York her work has been shown at the 92nd St Y, Judson Church, Center for Performance Research, The New Dance Alliance Festival, The Williamsburg Art and Historical Society, The Dumbo Dance Festival, Art Helix, Theaterlab, and Arts on Site. As a performer she has worked with artists such as Luis Lara Malvacias, Okwui Okpokwasili, Bill T Jones, Christine Bonansea, Davis Freeman, Zoe Scofield, Madeline Hollander, Reut Shemesh, Lynn Neuman, Kate Digby, Jody Oberfelder and more. She was a solo performer in 'Room 29' on a European tour with musicians Jarvis Cocker and Chilly Gonzales. She has been an assistant choreographer with MOMAPS1 and NIKE and most recently for Stefanie Nelson for fashion designer Terrence Zhou for Bad Binch TONGTONG's New York Fashion Week. This fall Maya will premier a new work with Stefanie Nelson at Festival Quartier Danses in Montreal, Canada.

David Shenk (Co-producer) is the award-winning and national bestselling author of six books, including The Genius in All of Us ("deeply interesting and important" – The New York Times), The Forgetting ("remarkable" – The Los Angeles Times), Data Smog ("indispensable" – The New York Times), and The Immortal Game ("superb" – The Wall Street Journal). He is a popular lecturer, a short-film director/producer, and a contributor to National Geographic, Slate, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Nature Biotechnology, Harper's, Spy, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New Republic, NPR, and BBC. PBS's "The Forgetting," inspired by Shenk's book, won an Emmy in 2004. In 2006, the book The Forgetting was featured in Sarah Polley's Oscar-nominated film "Away From Her." Shenk has advised the President's Council on Bioethics on dementia-related issues, served as a Senior Advisor to Cure Alzheimer's Fund, and is the Creator/Executive Producer of the "Living with Alzheimer's" film project. Shenk lives in Brooklyn. www.davidshenk.com

Dances For A Variable Population, Inc. (DVP) founded by Naomi Goldberg Haas, Artistic Director, is a multigenerational dance company and educational organization committed to promoting strong and creative movement among older adults of all abilities, enabling them to build creativity, improve their mental and physical health, strengthen social connections and enhance their quality of life. Through classes, dance workshops and performances, using the power of dance, we build community, creating lively, fun and beautifully executed theatrical dance with diverse individuals and professional dancers. Serving over 2,500 older adults throughout NYC annually with classes and performances. Our free of charge core program MOVEMENT SPEAKS® for older adults is offered 3x a week at Grants Tomb Plaza, at Manhattanville Community center, Jackie Robinson senior center at Grant Houses and Morningside Gardens.

Graziella Murdocca (she/her) (performer) is a freelance artist and pilates instructor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Graziella graduated from Hunter College with her Bachelors degree in Mathematics and Dance. She has worked with Amirov Dance Theater, Nicholas Andre Dance, The Next Stage Project, Shawn Bible Dance Company, Depth Dance and Urban | Tribe. Currently, she's dancing for BARE Dance Company and enjoys teaching pilates at East River Pilates in Brooklyn.

Mark Willis (performer), a New York City native, began his formal dance training at Montclair State University, where he received his B.F.A. in Dance. At MSU, Mark performed works by José Limón, Earl Mosely, Bill T. Jones, Anna Sokolow, May O' Donnell and Maxine Steinman. He was also the recipient of the Jeanne Wade Henningburg Scholarship and Spirit of Dance Award given by the Department of Theatre and Dance. In 2008, Mark had the privilege of performing with The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps in President Barak Obama's inauguration parade. In 2014, Mark's solo piece, "Save Me" was selected to be performed at the American College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C, where it accorded positive reception and praise. He has also had the pleasure of working with Douglas Dunn and Dancers, ARCOS Dance, Christina Noel and The Creature, WHITE WAVE Dance, JOIN Ensemble, among others. Mr. Willis has taught and performed all over the United States, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. His other interests include choreographing, composing, singing, modeling and playing the trumpet. Mark joined the Limón Dance Company in 2015.

The Moving Memory Project is made possible in part with funding from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC); in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; and the West Harlem Development Corporation.
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