BLACK VOICES SHOWCASE
2020 BLACK VOICES SHOWCASE ARTISTS
The Black Voices Showcase aired on Tuesday, October 6, as part of the Arts Midwest + WAA 2020 Conference. Thank you to the review panel comprised of members of the Black Arts @ WAA Committee: Pamela M. Green, Stephen Blanchett, MJ Brown, Dawn Gibson-Brehon, David Mack, Don Roth, Anna Thompson
Dahlak Brathwaite
Dahlak gained national attention through his appearances on HBO’s "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry". He has worked closely with Rockefeller fellow, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, writing and performing in several of Joseph’s critically acclaimed plays, including "Word Becomes Flesh" - presented at The Public Theater and Lincoln Center. Dahlak’s solo work, "Spiritrials", has been performed in 20 cities around the country, including presentations at the Kennedy Center. Dahlak was awarded NEFA’s National Theatre Project Grant for his latest piece "Try/Step/Trip". He is currently an MFA student at NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, where he was awarded the Dean Full-Tuition Fellowship.
ARTIST WEBSITE
Drew Dollaz
Drew Dollaz is a pioneer of flexing, a Brooklyn-based genre of street dance also referred to as bone breaking, which is characterized by rhythmic contortionist movements. A self-taught dancer, Dollaz’ signature work blends flexing with other genres of movement, including ballet, to create a transcendent hybrid of movement artistry. Arts education and youth empowerment are core tenets of Dollaz’ work and he currently mentors young dancers and gives master classes around the world for participants ranging from ages 5 through 70.
ARTIST WEBSITE
Donal Fox
Donal Fox is internationally acclaimed as a composer, pianist, and improviser in both jazz and classical music. His numerous awards include a Guggenheim fellowship in music composition. He served as the first African American composer-in-residence with the St. Louis Symphony and his music has been performed and premiered at Carnegie Hall, major music halls, and festivals around the world. He is a recipient of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters Academy Award in Music and a Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Scholar Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Fox is a Steinway Artist.
ARTIST WEBSITE
Amythyst Kiah
Born in Chattanooga and based in Johnson City, Amythyst Kiah’s commanding stage presence is matched by her raw and powerful vocals—a deeply moving, hypnotic sound that stirs echoes of a distant and restless past. Accompanied interchangeably with banjo, acoustic guitar, or a full band, her eclectic influences span decades, finding inspiration in old time music, alternative rock, folk, country, and blues.
ARTIST WEBSITE
Spectrum Dance Theatre | Donald Byrd
Donald Byrd Artistic Director of Spectrum Dance Theater, TONY nominated and Bessie Award winning choreographer. Created dances for: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pacific North¬west Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem, The Joffrey Ballet, The Public Theater, The 5th Avenue, Seattle Opera, Dutch National Opera. Awards, prizes: Doris Duke Artist Award, James W. Ray Distinguished Artist Award, Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts (Cornish College of the Arts), Masters of Choreography Award (Kennedy Center), Fellow at The American Academy of Jerusalem, United States Artists, Resident Fellow of The Rockefeller Center Bellagio, Fellow at the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue (Harvard).
ARTIST WEBSITE
Sphinx Virtuosi
The Sphinx Virtuosi are the nation's most dynamic, exhilarating professional chamber orchestra, dedicated to increasing racial and ethnic diversity in classical music. Comprised of eighteen of the nation's top Black and Latinx classical soloists, the Virtuosi are primarily alumni of the internationally renowned Sphinx Competition, and its members work together as cultural ambassadors reaching new audiences. Acting as a bridge between minority communities and the classical music establishment, the Sphinx Virtuosi continue to garner critical acclaim during their annual national tours to many of the leading venues around the country.
