Digital: Town Hall: Community Check in, Moderated by Sydnie L. Mosley + Kendra Ross

As we reopen our doors and look toward the future, we invite you to engage in a dialogue with fellow members of the dance community, Gina Gibney, and Gibney’s Executive Leadership Team. What do you need and desire as our field returns after more than a year of being shuttered? What are you prioritizing? How can Gibney better serve the dance community?

ABOUT SYDNIE L. MOSLEY

Sydnie L. Mosley is an award winning artist-activist and educator who is interested in creative work that is both artistically sound and socially aware. She produces experiential dance works with her collective SLMDances. Through their choreographic work, the collective works in communities to organize for gender and racial justice. Her evening length dances The Window Sex Project and BodyBusiness, their creative processes and performance experiences are a model for dance-activism. Her dances have been performed extensively throughout New York City and she was listed by TheRoot.com as one of twenty-five “Up and Coming: Young Minority Artists and Entrepreneurs.” Sydnie was recognized by NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio for using her talents in dance to fuel social change and is a Bessie Award-winner for Outstanding Performance. Sydnie is currently a recipient of the Harlem Stage Fund for New Work toward the development of her newest work, PURPLE. This follows a multi-year development residency through Lincoln Center Education as the Manhattan Community Artist in Residence (2018-2020). An advocate for the dance field, Sydnie sits on the Advisory Committee to Dance/NYC. Her writing has appeared in Essence, Dance Magazine, and the Brooklyn Rail.

ABOUT KENDRA ROSS

Kendra J. Ross is a Detroit native working as a dancer, choreographer, facilitator and community organizer in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Kendra has worked with Urban Bush Women (UBW), Andrea E. Woods/Souloworks, Ase Dance Theater Collective, Monstah Black/ Motion Sickness, MBDance, Moving Spirits Dance Company, RAKIA!, Melanie Greene and Oyu Oro. Kendra completed a European tour with Adira Amram and DJ Kid Koala and performed with Gyptian at the MTV Iggy awards. She is currently a company member of Movement of the People Dance Company. Kendra’s choreographic work has been presented at the Florida A&M University, the off Broadway show 7 Sins, Museu de Arte in Salvador, Brazil, Dixon Place, Ailey Citigroup Theater, and Actors Fund Theater. She has been an Artist in Residence at Brooklyn Studios for Dance, Bates College, and The Neighborhood Project through 651Arts, a BAX Space Grantee, and a Visiting Artist at Atlantic Center for the Arts. Along with sharing her art world-wide, Kendra serves as the Founder/Director of STooPS, an outdoors-based community building event that uses art as a catalyst to strengthen ties between different entities in Bed-Stuy and as a Facilitator with UBW’s BOLD (Builders, Organizers, and Leaders Through Dance) network. www.thekendrajross.com

Gibney’s Town Hall convenes artists, educators, advocates, audience members and other stakeholders for in-depth, moderated discussion of topics of urgent concern to our community.

All Fall 2021 Season events will be held online via Zoom. Gibney’s Box Office can be reached via email. For ticketing inquiries or requests, please email Marketing & Audience Services Manager, Kimiko Tanabe, at boxoffice@gibneydance.org.

Gibney encourages people with disabilities to attend online offerings, and we welcome the opportunity to make this event more accessible. This event features live ASL interpreters and live captioning. If you have any questions or additional access needs, please email us at constanza@gibneydance.org or call us at 212-677-8560 (voice only) at least 24 hours in advance of the event you plan to attend.

Image Description: Collage of 2 headshots
Right Photo: Sydnie, a light skinned Black woman with an afro looks direct at the camera. She wears a purple shirt and red lipstick.
Left Photo: Caramel skinned black woman with afro high top. Head slightly facing right looking forward with pink lip stick and design shaved on the side of the head against a black background

Photo (left) of Sydnie L. Mosley by Ferima Faye. Photo (right) of Kendra Ross by Bostock Images.