With support from the California Arts Council, DANCE ELIXIR will expand our Dabke (Palestinian folk dance) residency with Arab folk dance artist Wael Buhaissy. He will teach ten free monthly classes that are designed for beginners, accompanied by live music. Buhaissy will also choreograph his first evening-length Dabke theater show – a 50-minute dance-theater work of Dabke and live music presented as a 4-performance run. All events are free and take place at Temescal Art Center in Oakland.
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.