Year » 2022

Battery Dance was able to reach new audiences and implant its internationally acclaimed arts education program, Dancing to Connect, in HCMC and Da Nang during its short 10-day program in Vietnam. The program built on relationships and reputation established during the Company’s previous cultural diplomacy projects in 2005 (HCMC and Hanoi) and 2015 (Hue and Hanoi), both sponsored through grants from the U.S. Embassy Hanoi. The rare synergy, trust and understanding that had built up between the founders and artistic directors of Battery Dance and Arabesque Vietnam, Jonathan Hollander and Nguyen Tan Loc respectively, laid the groundwork for the project’s success.

The rare talent of the Arabesque dancers, ranging in age from 19 - 36, their open-mindedness and their quick ability to absorb new skills, enabled the transfer of Dancing to Connect methodologies to occur in very abbreviated time. Months and months of preparation beforehand ensured that there were few internal misunderstandings, that challenges could be overcome cooperatively and that the members of Arabesque were ready with a positive outlook even before the program was launched.

Floods in Hoi An and Da Nang in the weeks before the program took place forced some last minute changes in the structure of the workshops. Namely, Hoi An was ruled out since school closures set back the academic teaching schedule; and Da Nang high schools similarly. As a result, we shifted our target group to slightly older students in colleges; teachers from the Da Nang College of Arts and Culture and from the Trung Vuong Theater also joined in as active participants alongside their students. All were extremely receptive and ready to engage whole-heartedly in the workshops. Their self-confidence in charting new territory creatively built steadily during the week of workshops and their final performances were remarkably polished.

The Trung Vuong Theater had an impressively sized audience of 500+ and their appreciation of the various performances was obvious, even in a culture that doesn’t usually demonstrate response vociferously.

Arabesque Vietnam is now fully equipped to carry out Dancing to Connect workshops in HCMC and elsewhere in rural districts and other cities. Through his contacts with Citibank, Jonathan Hollander introduced the Country Head and Public Affairs Officer of Citi Vietnam to Tan Loc and Arabesque, both of whom attended the Studio Showing in HCMC. Hollander followed up and encouraged Citi to sponsor a future DtC program or programs in HCMC conducted by Arabesque, sustaining the long-term impact of the Consulate General’s support of Battery Dance’s cultural diplomacy initiative.

Jonathan Hollander introduced U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper to Artistic Director and Choreographer Nguyen Tan Loc and Company Manager Nhi Huyen of Arabesque Vietnam.

The U.S. Consulate General has also been re-introduced to Arabesque and could consider supporting a future project as has been done by the U.S. Embassy in Athens which helped local Greek teacher trainees take Dancing to Connect to Athens schools and those across the country each year for 7 years up until the pandemic.

Battery Dance conducted a robust national tour of Indonesia of 18 days November/December, 2022, its first program in the Country since 2011. Each of the major program elements included youth arts educational workshops and performances with an underlying theme of climate change and humans’ relationship with nature.

The New York City-based team of 6 dancer/teaching artists, 1 artistic director/program manager and 1 technical director was supplemented by local Indonesian partner, Mohammad Reiza, who had worked with the dance company in its prior engagement eleven years earlier in Makassar while serving as a Cultural Affairs Assistant with the U.S. Embassy Jakarta.

The overall dimension and details of the project were developed in close cooperation with Reiza and U.S. Embassy Public Affairs staff Pirina Vindiartha and Emily Norris, both of whom had supported Battery Dance’s 2011 Indonesia program, and Grace Clegg, ACAO. This close coordination came into play even as situations changed on the ground and the program was able to be successfully modified to take advantage of opportunities as they arose and to prevent any diminishment of impact when the team faced unforeseen challenges.

The locations chosen for the workshops and performances were spread across the country – Makassar in South Sulawesi; Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan, Borneo; Mataram in Lombok and Serang in Java. Each location had been the epicenter of climate disasters such as Tsunamis, earthquakes, forest fires and mudslides. The concept that creative dance workshops could help young people process trauma and explore feelings and expressions emanating from natural disasters beyond their control is something that Battery Dance had tested through Dancing to Connect workshops held in the New York City Borough of Staten Island, after it was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy in 2014.

Student participation and responses were powerful and inspiring. The overall quality of creativity, innovation, talent and work ethic was extremely high. The dance pieces created by the youth (and in some cases adults) were distinctive and compelling; and emotions overflowed at the end of each program with plenty of hugs and tears of joy and sadness that the engagement was completed.

Two pre-program virtual panel discussions were added to the primary “live” elements of the program to boost awareness of the tour and lay the groundwork for the workshops that would take place soon after. The @america event that took place on the final day of the tour was also shared virtually with an audience reaching 170+ thus far on youtube.com.

In the aftermath of the program, we see many opportunities for continuity: government officials and cultural leaders in Makassar and Mataram have expressed interest in sending their local dance companies to New York for future Battery Dance Festivals. In both cases, invitations to Battery Dance to return to participate in large festivals were also discussed. Whether there is continuing will and funding to propel these ideas is not clear. Palangkaraya has also spoken about future collaboration and asked for guidance in applying for a project supporting the preservation of Dayak culture through the Ambassadors’ Fund for Cultural Preservation.

Battery Dance had the honor of serving the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs in its first major cultural diplomacy initiative in over 6 years. As in most of our international work, months of preparation were invested in conceptualizing the best approach to reach maximum impact. The Bethlehem Cultural Palace offered its facilities including two beautiful large dance studios and a 1,000 seat theater. The Battery team paired up in teams to work with the 30 students who joined. Two beautiful and compelling works of choreography were created and performed in the grand finale.

Vive and Sara Seger were free to engage in so-called “Satellite Activities”, traveling with USG support to Nablus, Ramallah, East Jerusalem on successive days, running 2 – 4 hour workshops in each with groups ranging from kids ages 10 – 13 to teens from 14 – 19. They came back each day brimming with enthusiasm for the warm welcome they’d experienced. The group from Ramallah was so excited by the experience that they offered to travel to Bethlehem and perform their Dabkeh (the local folk dance) in the grand finale. Vive and Sara joined in and it was a true symbol of Palestinian-American friendship.

With the political perspective of the Palestinian’s anger over the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh shortly before our trip, and the fact that President Biden’s visit to Israel, Jerusalem and Bethlehem took place just after our departure, it really seemed as if our program was people to-people cultural diplomacy at its best. The loudly enthusiastic ovations at our grand finale were heart-warming and to top it off, The Office of Palestinian Affairs put out a short video compilation after our program had concluded which has already racked up 60,000 views and over 650 “likes” on FaceBook.

Teacher Training

In Phase I of the project, Battery Dance’s team of six highly skilled teaching artists and the Company’s artistic director worked with 19 local teachers from Bremen and Bremerhaven over the course of a one-week, 20-hour training session. The goal was to equip local teachers with an understanding of the philosophy and introduction to the practical skills necessary to conduct Battery Dance’s arts education methodology, Dancing to Connect, with the intention that these teachers would then partner with Battery Dance’s teaching artists in conducting workshops in their schools. Teachers of various ages, ethnicities, and religions (including Russian and Brazilian emigres and a Ukrainian refugee) engaged in the physical and theoretical training conducted by the Battery Dance team. They shed their self-consciousness and entered the process with open minds and hearts. They displayed a spirit of camaraderie while summoning up creative expression that may have been nascent previously. Teachers of math and social studies as well as others who taught dance or gym/recreation participated. This was the first time since 2006 when Battery Dance launched its arts education initiatives in Germany that intensive local teacher training was achieved and thus the sustainability and multiplier effect of the project was brought to life

Student Workshops

Phase II took place during the second and third weeks of the program. The local teachers accompanied Battery Dance’s teaching artists into their schools, collaboratively implementing 20-hour dance workshops with their students. Eleven original choreographic works were created, each distinctive, unique and compelling in its own way. Bremen, being the most diverse Federal State of Germany, was a prime location in which to test the assertion of the project that the dancing workshops could dispel fear, misunderstanding and marginalization of students perceived as “other”. Approximately 200 students took part in the workshops.

Syrian Guest Teaching Artist & Performer

The involvement of a professional Syrian refugee teaching artist, Amr Karkout, was integrated into the project. He joined the Battery Dance team for the 4th time, having learned the Dancing to Connect methodology in previous engagements with the Company. He visited each workshop during the two weeks of training, introducing himself with a brief overview of his journey and his current work as a member of Sascha Walz & Guests in Berlin. His presence added to the impact and the example of trust-building on a professional level for the local students as well as presenting a solo at the Metropol Theater in both final performances.

Performances

The Final Phase of the project took place at the Bremen’s opera house-style Metropol Theater over two nights in which first five and then six school groups presented their completed choreographies on a program that also included the solo by Amr Karkout, and “The Wind in the Olive Grove”, a newly commissioned work by Syrian-German choreographer Saeed Hani, performed by Battery Dancers. Battery Dance engaged a young professional video crew to document the performances and to make a short 5- minute documentary. We estimate the audience for the two performances at 1,200.

Three elements were included in the project:

30 DANCE CLASSES FOR YOUTH were recorded, edited and framed in Spanish by three American master dance teachers. These programs were designed to support young Bolivians, many of whom were sequestered in their homes during the worst spread of COVID 19. The Embassy shared the programs with Bolivian Satellite Television which, we understand, has disseminated the programs several times to homes throughout the country and to bordering countries as well. Classes are linked here

3 ARTS MANAGEMENT SEMINARS were held on Zoom, led by Battery Dance COO and VP Emad Salem with participation by Battery Dance Founder and President Jonathan Hollander. 70+ Bolivian arts managers across a wide range of disciplines, ages and experiences attended each of the sessions

3 DANCING TO CONNECT VIRTUAL PROGRAMS, 8 SESSIONS EACH were held with students who varied from experienced young dancers from the private dance studio All That Jazz to others who came from less privileged backgrounds. For all of them, the experience provided an opportunity to unleash their creative abilities, to build teamwork skills as well as boosting self-confidence. The choreographic material derived in the workshops, with Battery Dance trainers projected onto the wall of the All That Jazz studios, were captured by an Embassy-sourced videographer who sent the raw files back to Battery Dance. Our Teaching Artists edited the material into discreet and highly original video dance works, which can be seen here: Group 1, Group 2, Group 3

Participant feedback can be seen here.