The Biennial Women in Dance Leadership Conference was held in Los Angeles October 17-19 and was a resounding success! The Los Angeles Dance community stepped up and out to welcome an international group of dance leaders, creators, academics, performers, and students. Over three days participants were immersed in dance from morning to night. The energy was effusive and infectious and the connections forged will be long-lasting and generative.
Full disclosure: I worked on developing one of the major sessions for the conference and presented at it.
Sandra Parks – Photo by Amanda Tipton.
Women in Dance was founded by visionary leader Sandra Parks in 2013. The organization’s mission is to promote and advocate for Female Leadership in Dance and through Dance Education. It aims to provide opportunities to access broader and more visible platforms, expand the voices of artists and scholars, and strengthen the capacity and vibrancy of women in dance-making and dance-related fields. The Women in Dance Leadership Conference is a biennial international conference that presents keynote speeches, panel discussions, movement workshops, dance-on-film screenings, scholarly paper presentations, individual speeches, and live concerts.
Los Angeles is often (falsely) accused of not having a strong dance scene or dance community. This conference proved that premise wrong again. The local support was strong! The conference sponsors included Brockus Project Dance, and DIAVOLO | Architecture in Motion®. The Biltmore Hotel was home base, the opening concert was held at Stomping Ground, and the final concert was at the Japanese American Cultural Center’s Aratani Theatre. Los Angeles companies, dancers, choreographers, universities, and spaces were well represented among the national and international guests. Additional sponsors include the Creary De La O Family Foundation and Dance Data Project®. The 2024 Conference Collaborators were Contra Tiempo Activist Dance Theater, Diversified Professional Coaching LLC., and MashUp Contemporary Dance Company. In addition to being vibrant and thriving, the Los Angeles Dance community is overwhelmingly female.
Sandra Shih Parks is herself an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and educator. She earned her BFA in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and her MFA in choreography from Smith College. She has performed in Broadway and International Tours (King and I), on concert stages worldwide, and has presented choreography on stages both nationally and internationally. She has been on the faculty of numerous universities and was the Head of the Dance Program at Louisiana State University and the Program Director for Drexel University. She currently serves as Executive and Artistic Director of the Colorado Conservatory of Dance.
Long before the dance industry was willing to acknowledge the systematic exclusion of women from leadership opportunities and the richest, most prestigious commissions, Sandra Parks not only identified the issue but put both her personal prestige and her own resources into creating a place for women to share challenges and opportunities. Sandra has been a phenomenal ally to DDP, but the conference is also the perfect complement to DDP’s statistical research and resources. DDP is all remote, with our Team dispersed across the country. WID provides a unique opportunity for women from all aspects of dance to come together. –Elizabeth Yntema, DDP®
Ms. Parks and I sat down a little over a week after the conference and discussed the process of putting it together, the conference highlights, and what comes next.
There were several highlights and recurring themes throughout. The first was the inclusion of hip-hop artists and scholars from both New York and Los Angeles. The opening night performance at Stomping Ground was preceded by a Keynote Discussion; Women in Hip Hop; Reclaiming and Representing and featured Dr. Imani Kai Johnson, grace shinhae jun, and Ephrat Asherie.
I’m so glad I was able to include the voice of hip-hop dance. I tried for so long! It literally took four years to book Ephrat. When we first talked about it, this term of B-girl was still super new, and I was like, Yes! I want to include this. But, due to the pandemic and other scheduling, we weren’t able to include her until LA. I was super excited.
My favorite part was just looking at three of them in that panel! When Dr Johnson talked about lineage, or when grace said, you know, as an Asian American woman practicing a black cultural form, what is my responsibility? Those are such important questions to ask.
I think some people might say that’s very academic, but at the same time, that’s what the conference is about. That is why I don’t call it a festival. I want to bridge academia with the profession and with the students.
“Trust” by Alyssa Mitchel – Photo courtesy of the artist.
The opening concert featured four solo dances; Time, choreographed by Los Angeles’ Deborah Brockus and danced by Mara Hancock, Best Before End, choreographed and performed by Vidya Patel, a Birmingham-based Kathak dance artist who focuses on autobiographical narratives, Excerpts from Contra-Tiempo’s joyUs justUS; Agua Batá + Luca’s Story, choreographed in collaboration by Ana Maria Alvarez and Jannet Galdamez and performed by Jannet Galdamez, and Riff this: ReDux choreographed and performed by Ephrat Asherie. It was an eclectic and inspiring evening that uplifted and celebrated women’s voices and movement with power, beauty, and compassion.
Ms. Parks’ second highlight is somewhat surprising; buy-in from the ballet world. Ms. Parks says she has often had difficulty bringing women in from ballet. In 2019, the conference featured Stoner Winslett from Richmond Ballet and a solo created by Cincinnati Ballet’s Artistic Director Victoria Morgan, but this year was different. Ballet permeated the conference. The first full day opened with a recorded interview by Ms. Parks with Susan Jaffe, the artistic director of American Ballet Theatre. Ms. Jaffe was originally slated to attend in person but scheduling interfered. Ms. Jaffe was funny, encouraging, and realistic as she discussed the many ways women are changing dance leadership, the roadblocks that have existed in the past, and the challenging paths that lie ahead. She was personable and self-effacing and left everyone in the room inspired. The presence of ballet was experienced throughout the rest of the conference, with presentations on gender and hierarchy in ballet, play in ballet, several ballet performances in the final concert, and a documentary film by San Francisco filmmaker Kathryn Roszak on women choreographers and leaders in ballet.
grace shinhae jun, Dr. Imani Kai Johnson, and Ephrat Asherie – Photo courtesy of WID.
Marisa Hamamoto gave the keynote address following the interview. Ms. Hamamoto is a disability inclusion speaker, a dancemaker, and the founder, CEO, and artistic director of Infinite Flow Dance. She spoke on Building an Authentic, Fulfilling, and Thriving Dance Career, and ushered in another conference theme; inclusive dance spaces. Ms. Hamamoto is a powerful voice in the Los Angeles dance community, advocating for disability inclusion and self-determination in dance. She is active in the Choreographers Guild and is an astonishing person. Participants left the keynote fired up and ready to jump into the packed program of dance films, scholarly papers, panel discussions, and movement workshops.
Dance on Film at Women In Dance – Photo courtesy of WID.
Thirteen dance films screened over the next two days, with moderation and discussion led by Eva Stone, a WID board member and the producer/curator of CHOP SHOP; Bodies of Work, an annual contemporary dance festival. The films celebrated the human body and were diverse in perspective, genre, locality, identity, and subject matter.
Academic papers and presentations included sessions on Teaching Dance History in the 21st Century, inclusive and culturally relevant approaches to setting and teaching ballet in college and professional settings, a presentation by Dance Data Project® on the benefits of incorporating economic quantitative dance data analysis into university programs, and innovative strategies for non-profit organizations as we all navigate the future of philanthropy.
Ms. Parks points to the roundtable discussion between industry leaders and academic leaders as a highlight. Department chairs and heads from USC, UCI, CSUN, CSCI, LMU, and CSLB, as well as faculty from UCLA, Chapman, St. Mary’s, and AMDA, discussed the significance and state of dance education and preparation for the professional world with professionals including director Trish Sie, Artistic Director Judith Helle-Flex of Luminario Ballet, Commercial Choreographer Becca Sweitzer, Agent Shelli Marghertitis and representatives from Invertigo Dance Theater, Backhaus Dance, and BODYTRAFFIC. Topics included mental health and wellness, etiquette, professionalism, and the infamous phrase “the show must go on.”
Education and the Dance Industry Roundtable Discussion – Photo courtesy of the organization.
The round table, that’s another highlight for me. We did that in Philadelphia, but not as big as the one that we had in LA. Really bring these people together and have a conversation about what you need from us versus what I want you to do for me.
Bringing people together was a theme of the conference and was exemplified by the community support offered. The numerous movement workshops are a testament to the international flavor of the conference. Contra-Tiempo offered a joyous community dance jam. Ephrat Asherie offered an introduction to house. Other workshops featured Kate Dougherty of Diavolo, Kathak Dance taught by Vidya Patel, foundations of Umfundalai taught by Tabatha Robinson and Monique Walker, and Dances of Resistance: African Ring Shout and African-Brazilian Orixa Traditions taught by Tamara Williams.
I cannot say enough good things about what Deborah (Brockus) did and Jacques (Heim) did. I mean, just that generosity. And of course, Jacques is the first male leader in dance to step up and say, Yes, I want to support this in a very meaningful and substantial way. I was super glad. His team is amazing everyone and I’m just so grateful for that.
Women In Dance – Ephrat Asherie leads a workshop – Photo courtesy of WID.
In addition to Los Angeles-based artists, the visibility of Asian artists, American artists of Asian descent, and other artists practicing in Asia was a particular point of pride for Ms. Parks.
I really wanted to attract more Asian companies as well. And I’m so glad that choreographer Seung Yeon Mah from South Korea came. I’m so glad that Kavitha from Singapore, Liz Lea from Australia, and Dr. Maria Salgado Llopis who teaches at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. We got the conversation out to the Asian and Oceanian region as well.
The final performance was held at the Japanese American Cultural Center’s Aratani Theatre. A total of twelve pieces, all choreographed by women, from all over the world, were presented. The work represented a full range of experience and professionalism. Up-and-coming choreographers were given the same opportunities as well-established professionals. According to Ms. Parks, not everyone is ready for the highest level of presenting, but so many young female choreographers do not have access or an opportunity to be seen in order to find mentorship and development opportunities. It is important for the conference to present a wide range of choreographic works by women from different stages of their career and development. The pieces were chosen by a combination of board members and community members. Works presented included a beautiful duet from MashUp creative director Victoria Brown, Seung Yeon Mah’s quartet Equilibrium, and a contemporary piece by Atlanta-based choreographer Lyrric Jackson which featured student dancers from Cal State University, Northridge. Rooted jazz was brilliantly presented by Brandi Coleman and Sarah Zehnder brought a brilliant trio set to excerpts of speeches by Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, and Emma Watson. Ballet, Kathak, and contemporary were also well represented. The conference ended with a talk-back, which highlighted the symbiotic relationship between established and emerging artists and left participants, onstage and off, energized for the future of dance.
Nancy Dobbs Owen and Tracey Bonner for Dance Data Project® – Photo courtesy of the artists.
After the success of this conference, Ms. Parks should be due a vacation and some time off but instead, she is deep into planning the next two Women in Dance events.
The first is a summer residency, open to women-run companies and presented in collaboration with the Colorado Conservatory of Dance. The residency runs from July 14, 2025, to July 26, 2025, and includes a $1,500 stipend, an additional travel stipend, and 70 hours of complimentary studio time for the companies to research new work. The choreographers will be expected to teach 2 movement classes per week and conduct 5 rehearsals per week, utilizing participating dancers, aged 14-25. The residency will culminate in a collaboration with Women in Dance, featuring performances at the 2025 Florence Biennale in Italy (October). The work will also be showcased with a performance at a professional theater in the Denver area. Applications are due on December 31, 2024, and participants will be announced on January 15, 2025. To apply, click here.
The second is the 2026 Women in Dance Leadership Conference, which will be held in Denver in 2026. If this year’s conference was any indication of what is in store for the next, you will want to start your plans now! To get on the Women In Dance Newsletter mailing list, click here.
Written by Nancy Dobbs Owen for LA Dance Chronicle
Featured Image: Women In Dance logo courtesy of WID.
