Dancing Conversation: Changing the Rules

The National Center for Choreography at The University of Akron (NCCAkron) announces its Dancing Conversation: Changing the Rules event with choreographer Monica Bill Barnes (New York, NY) and creative producing director / performer Robbie Saenz de Viteri (New York, NY) on Thursday, September 16, at 7 pm ET. This free, virtual public event invites Barnes and Saenz de Viteri of Monica Bill Barnes & Company to share video excerpts and discuss their collaborative work together. Beyond choreographing dance, the conversation will unpack how bringing dance into spaces where it does not belong influences the movement and becomes creative nonfiction performance.

Dancing Conversations are free public events that locate dance among broader topics and offer an opportunity to demonstrate the aesthetic range within the dance field. All our 2021 Dancing Conversations — on dance & music, women & witchcraft, Black male choreographers, and queer movements — are available on our YouTube channel.

The Dancing Conversation event preludes DanceCleveland and The University of Akron Dance Program’s co-presentation of The Running Show on Saturday, September 25 at 7:30 pm ET at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall. Choreographed by Barnes and written by Saenz de Viteri, The Running Show documents the life of a dancer through movement, interviews and stories. Combining humor, voiceovers of aspiring young dancers and modern movement, the performance features Monica Bill Barnes on stage alongside dancers ranging in age from 12 to 84, including The University of Akron’s Dance Department dancers.