THE CHALLENGE: Boston Dance Theater recently received a grant to develop a multi-cultural performance piece with CJP Creative Fellow and musician, Yoni Battat. But what does ‘multi-cultural identity’ mean to an ensemble of Iraqi, Jewish, Cuban, Cape Verdean, Haitian, American, and GLBTQ artists? How do you avoid simple cliches and create art from such a challenge?
BDT is known for its collaborative, risk-taking approach to crossing cultural and interpersonal boundaries. Jessie Stinnett, BDT Founder/Director, takes great pride in their “collaborative creative processes to developing programs. Our training around topics of diversity and inclusion has become an essential part of our identity as a company. By learning better how to work together as a cohort, we can better serve and support our extended community.”
THE SOLUTION: Dream Up Consulting was brought on to serve as Creative Producer for this project and to help the dancers and musicians work together to develop a creative, meaningful reflection on identity. This on-going process began with heartfelt discussions, facilitated by Dream Up Consulting, about the things we cherish from our cultural identities as well as moments of difficulty. The process began by sharing memories of their favorite ethnic food and soon moved on to difficult experiences of feeling different, hidden, misunderstood.
Dream Up will continue to support the project through concept development, communications and fundraising, and final performance production. Like BDT and Yoni Battat, DreamUp Consulting believes that art has a unique power to bring people together and that our cultural differences can be a rich source for inspiration.
THE RESULT – Watch for the premier in spring of 2022
DREAM UP SERVICES:
Creative Support for Artistic Director
Team Building
Grant Editing and Copywriting
Event Production Assistance
"With his vast experience developing arts and culture programs, Joey Baron knows what it’s like to create an organization and serve as both its Executive Director and Artistic Director. I can always rely on him for his insights, creativity, and, most of all, his positive, supportive energy."
- Jessie Stinnett, Founder/Director, Boston Dance Theater