Adam McKinney selected as LEAD:NM Fellow

We are proud to announce that Adam McKinney will be part of the first cohort of LEAD:NM.  LEAD stands for Leadership for Excellence, Accountability, and Diversity. 

LEAD is “an initiative created to recruit, select, develop, and mentor high-potential minority education leaders in pursuit of excellence in public schools.” 

The cohort will meet over a 10-month period uniting individuals all across New Mexico.  Our schools rank poorly amongst the nation and we can work together as a community to change this. 

Learn more at http://www.leadnewmexico.org/

Adam’s platform statement:

“As an arts educator, I have had the pleasure of witnessing the ways in which exposure to arts education can save lives. As a community, we must support public schools in:

1. Investing in culturally arts-based training and education for our tireless educators;

2. Creating historical contexts for teaching about and healing the hurts of oppression; and

3. Implementing peer-based learning opportunities by focusing on and funding technology initiatives.”

HaMapah/The Map January 26-27 in ABQ

HaMapah/The Map in Albuquerque HaMapah/The Mapis part of Tricklock Theatre's Revolutions International Theatre Festival! Where: Carlisle Performance Space Carlisle Gym UNM South Arena Click for directions. When: Saturday, January 26th at 8pm Sunday, January 27th at 2pm To purchase tickets toHaMapah/The Map, click here or call University of New Mexico Box Office at (877) 664-8661 . $23 general, $18 students/seniors (plus handling fees) Click here for more information. For the full Revolutions program and information on purchasing a festival pass, please visit: REVOLUTIONS. About HaMapah/The Map Conceived and performed by Adam McKinney, and directed by Daniel Banks, HaMapah/The Map is a multimedia, genealogical dance journey that traces the intersections of dancer Adam McKinney's African American, Native American, and Jewish heritages. HaMapah/The Map weaves contemporary dance with archival material, personal interviews, Yiddish and American songs, and video set to traditional, contemporary, and classical music. In this vibrant piece, McKinney explores issues of identity, ancestry, and family. As part of the program, DNAWORKS Co-Directors McKinney and Banks lead a community dialogue with the audience about the core ideas of the piece. What people are saying about HaMapah/The Map: "HaMapah took my breath away. I could not speak right after the performance. I wanted to sit in silence with my thoughts and feelings.” – Local supporter of the McCoy Theatre, Memphis Tennessee “I speak non-stop about HaMapah. I feel totally elevated because of the experience. I could not fall asleep last night, I was so positively excited…The genius of this experience for me was the reference to the past to create the future. Through our ancestors, in this case Adam’s, all our ancestors were mobilized and the surge of personal emotions touched upon our current multiplicity of identities that reside in all of us and make us so human, similar and distinct at the same time.” – Shula Bahat, C.E.O., Beit Hatfutsot of America "HaMapah/The Map is, conceptually, one of the most critical performances/ productions I have had the opportunity to participate in and witness. The exquisite 30-minute choreographed solo tells a riveting life story/family history. However, it is the also the engagement of the audience after the performance that truly makes this event a unique experience. The audience not only responded to the work on stage, but they also revealed their own life stories in relationship to the work." – Ms. Baraka Sele, Independent Producer and Consultant     ©2013 DNAWORKS | info@dnaworks.org | www.dnaworks.org

2013 Winter Dances

NMSA Dance presents Winter Dances 2013!

Featuring three world premieres by Dance Dept. Chair Adam McKinney, 

Guest Artist Lee-Wei Chao and ARCOS Dance Artistic Director Curtis Uhlemann

Friday, January 18 at 7pm

Saturday, January 19 at 7pm 

Sunday, January 20 at 2pm

James A. Little Theater, NM School for the Deaf

1060 Cerillos Road., Santa Fe

DNAWORKS presents a reading of Caridad Svich's SPARK

In collaboration with Teatro Paraguas, No Passport, and Performing Arts Conservatory of the Southwest.

November 14, 7:00 pm

Teatro Paraguas, 3205 Calle Marie, Santa Fe

With: Nicholas Ballas, Elias Gallegos, Nicole Gramlich, Kate Kita, Jaime Martinez, and Lesley Reveles. 

Associate Producer: Stefany Burrowes
Stage Manager: Phoebe Ward
Directed by: Daniel Banks

Immediately following the reading will be a conversation with local women who have been impacted by war, facilitated by Lenore Gallegos.

Tickets are FREE and available at the door on the night of the performance. Doors open at 6:30 pm. First come, first served.

Donations will be accepted. 

Daniel Banks on Hip-Hop Education Panel at the Schomburg Center, Oct 23, 6:30pm

Higher Learning: Using Hip-Hop Education  to Transform Schools and Communities Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Tuesday, October 23, 2012 at 6:30 PM (EDT) New York, NY This series highlights Hip-Hop education projects and initiatives that are transforming K-12 schools and communities. Join Daniel Banks, Editor of Say Word! Voices from Hip Hop Theater; Iona Rozeal Brown, Painter and Scholar-in-Residence, Hip Hop Education Center; and Pedro Noguera, Ph.D., author of Understanding and Responding to the Disenfranchisement of Latino Males: Invisible No More, and Closing the Achievement: From Research to Practice. Book signing and reception to follow panel discussion. This series is presented by the Schomburg Center’s Hip Hop 4.0 Initiative and curated by Martha Diaz. RSVP: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4365920586/eorg

NMSA Students Perform in Site Specific Work at Cross of the Martyrs, Santa Fe, NM

The Dance Department of New Mexico School For The Arts, Adam McKinney, Chair, will present a Site Specific Performance at the Cross of the Martyrs in Santa Fe as part of the Inside/Out Performance Series. 

Performances are Nov 3rd at 4:00 pm & Nov 4th at 3:00 pm.

To access the Cross of the Martyrs, please enter near the Fort Marcy Complex

DNAWORKS & Moving Arts Española Present the Look to the Horizon Annual Dance Scholarship, Oct 7

New Mexico’s Dance Education Scholarship Program Benefitting Young & Emerging Dance Artists

Press Conference

Sunday, October 7, 2:00 pm

James A. Little Theater

1060 Cerillos Rd., Santa Fe, NM

Look to the Horizon Annual Dance Education Scholarship Program (LTH) was founded in 2011 by Roger Montoya (Moving Arts Española) & Adam McKinney (DNAWORKS) to support young dancers aged 13-21 from New Mexico to further their national and international dance training.

Ruben Rascon (Velarde, NM), LTH’s first scholarship winner, was awarded $10,000 to study at the reknown Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, Russia for one year. We are happy to announce that, because of the generous support of individuals from around the state, who donated $1 - $2,500 last year, Ruben received his first professional dance contract with New Jersey Ballet Company!

HaMapah/The Map at Skidmore College Sunday, October 14th, 7:30pm

The performance will be the culmination of a week-long DNAWORKS residency at Skidmore. Daniel and Adam will facilitate various workshops and events for students, faculty and staff.

If you are in the Saratoga Springs, NY area, Please join us for HaMapah/The Map. For more information, click HERE.

Daniel Banks on Hip-Hop Education Panel at the Schomburg Center, Oct 23

Higher Learning: Using Hip-Hop Education to Transform Schools and Communities Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Tuesday, October 23, 2012 at 6:30 PM (EDT) New York, NY This series highlights Hip-Hop education projects and initiatives that are transforming K-12 schools and communities. Join Daniel Banks, Editor of Say Word! Voices from Hip Hop Theater; Iona Rozeal Brown, Painter and Scholar-in-Residence, Hip Hop Education Center; and Pedro Noguera, Ph.D., author of Understanding and Responding to the Disenfranchisement of Latino Males: Invisible No More, and Closing the Achievement: From Research to Practice. Book signing and reception to follow panel discussion. This series is presented by the Schomburg Center’s Hip Hop 4.0 Initiative and curated by Martha Diaz. RSVP: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4365920586/eorg

Daniel and Adam at the Black Theatre Network Conference in Atlanta

Daniel will be featured on the panel "Hip Hop Pedagogy," Friday, July 27th 3:00-4:30pm

This panel will examine the strategies and methodologies that have proven effective in integrating spoken word, rap music, and other elements of Hip Hop culture into the classroom.

Adam will present: "In the Mix: Pedagogy for the Creolized Classroom" with Eunice Ferreira from Skidmore College, Saturday, July 28th  10:15-11:45am

Too often the complexity of racial identity is reduced to a black-white dichotomy in the classroom, marginalizing those who do not fit neatly into the prescribed paradigm.  This panel will examine ways in which to complicate and enlarge the notion of diversity and explore effective methodologies from multiple points of entry.