With support from the California Arts Council, Dance Elixir will produce the third annual Arab.AMP Gathering at Oakland’s Temescal Arts Center. This 3-day festival will celebrate the plurality of artistic voices coming from Arab/South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA) diaspora through live art, music and dance programming. The Gathering is curated by Dance Elixir Director Leyya Mona Tawil and will take place in May 2021, preceded by contextualizing concerts and workshops starting Fall 2020.
DANCE ELIXIR produces art in the form of live trans-disciplinary performance and social engagement in a manner that supports local and international discourse and cultural empowerment. The organizations also offers educational programs and training at the professional, pre-profession and community level. DANCE ELIXIR’s works are presented locally, nationally, and internationally every year, and consistently prioritizes artists residing in California. Through its Oakland space TAC, DANCE ELIXIR supports year-round Bay Area performance, music, and community organizing. TAC is home to the TACmusic series that offers free workshops, commissioned performances, and residencies for local musicians, dancers, and creatives.
In 2017 DANCE ELIXIR launched Arab.AMP, a platform for experimental live art, music, and ideas from the from the AMENASA diaspora and our allied communities. Arab.AMP celebrates the plurality of AMENASA voices operating in futurism and hybrid forms, while also uplifting folk and traditional practices. Directed by Tawil, Arab.AMP operates in partnership with venues and organizations nationally to produce concerts, online programs, artistic commissions, cross-sector community spotlights, and creative residencies for the communities we serve. DANCE ELIXIR programming, mission, and governance are aligned to serve AMENASA and BIPOC empowerment in a way that shapes the field of performing arts and culture.