An Unsilent Auction

We are back in action!

They Dance For Rain and The Foundry announce the long-awaited benefit event, SOFT SHOE BOOM BOOM SPIN!, an echo of the wildly successful interactive fundraising events SOFT SHOE BOOM (2015) and SOFT SHOE BOOM BOOM (2019). The funds raised from this event go directly to supporting They Dance For Rain’s dance-making programs in Nairobi, Kenya.

The event will take place on Saturday February 11th at 7pm at The Foundry at 2 Harris St in West Stockbridge, MA and will feature an experimental and interactive un-silent auction of improvising musicians who will respond to the participation of the audience who purchase from a menu of items for directing and conducting the performers.

Musicians include: Adriana Tampasis (flute), Andy Wrba (bass), Beth Craig (cello), Bonnie McCubbin (violin), Charlie Tokarz (saxophone), Conor Meehan (drums), Justin Geyer (keyboard) and tap dancer Stefanie Weber. More musicians and special instruments to be announced! 🙂

Before the musical feature, the audience will have the opportunity to add their words to a “mad libs” script written just for this event by the amazing Don Jordan and spontaneously performed by the audacious members of his Nutshell Playhouse crew: Maizy Scarpa, Mark Hohlstein, and Maddy Campbell.

A short work-in-progress film edited by Michael Sinopoli highlighting the Virtual Residency work of They Dance For Rain during the pandemic will be shown at the start of the evening when project directors Weber and Pizzichemi will reveal the exciting itinerary of this winter’s journey to Nairobi. 

The event will culminate with an Afro-Dance-Electro-Pop playlist dance party.

Creative projections by artist Joe Wheaton accenting the camera work of fine arts photographer Monika Pizzichemi will light the space throughout the night.

There will be a cash bar.

$25 for 7p entry for Unsilent Auction  
$15 for 8p entry for Dance Party

Get your tickets online HERE

Seats are limited and buying tickets before is highly encouraged.  

For more info about reserving tickets or donating offline call 413.344.8303 or email TD4Rkenya@gmail.com

Cannot attend? Please consider donating to THEY DANCE FOR RAIN HERE
 

One B

•photo by Emma Ryan •Monday November 14 2022 @Dorothy’s (Dottie’s Coffee Lounge)•

Full Article in The Berkshire Eagle:

https://www.berkshireeagle.com/arts_and_culture/berkshirelandscapes/monday-jazz-night-pittsfield-mystery-location-andy-wrba/article_993212c6-6520-11ed-9e4b-8f0d78793fee.html?fbclid=IwAR34CFkc7Yi9RVvcAhIfZbFegtijZQK2E3luTeFE_P4qpeI-qdwKw9Fus7E

Nutshell Playhouse presents SpyJinks

visit Nutshell Playhouse for more information!

The Interior View Of A Lonely Process That Is Invisible And Possibly Universal (2021)

Premiered in October 2021 at “On The Wall” Video Art Show at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, MA

Testimonial Form

Participating clients, students, partners and comrades: please use the link below to access a form for adding your testimonial to our archive to be used for furthering Stefanie’s work in the community.

https://forms.gle/MTu1kuV7EtbbjM6r6

Thank you so much!

See Things My Way

The People’s Tap Dance Theater’s “See Things My Way” premiered at CATA’s annual gala in May 2022. Production by Ben Hillman. Concept/Direction by Stefanie Weber.

To view video visit: https://vimeo.com/showcase/9387924/video/702973246 use password: catacata

15 • Min • Movement Supplements

✴Welcome to the New World!✴

✴This is a time of transition where we can still MOVE together LIVE… online.✴

I introduce to you the new MOVEMENT SUPPLEMENTS with Stefanie series.

We meet for about 15mins of gently guided movements for body & soul. Let’s keep flowing and open during this time of uncertainty, anxiety, and isolation.

(Children can also join-in during these sessions as well! Movement Supplements are for all ages.)

Movement Supplements Promo1

THE LINK FOR ALL MEETINGS: https://zoom.us/j/5090998837

✴No experience is necessary. Any attire will do. Sessions are adaptable for all abilities. (If you need closed captions please notify me before the session.) Your camera will not be on. The only person visible will be me. When you enter, your sound will be muted. Please locate the Chat box upon entering. We will use this for communicating, check-in, feedback, comments, requests, and a check-out.

SCHEDULE
•
Monday March 23
8a
3p
9:30p
•
Tuesday March 24
8:30a
12:30p
7:30p
•
Wednesday March 25
10a
1:30p
9p
•
Thursday March 26th
7a
2p
7p
•
Friday March 27th
8:30a
4:30p
10p
•
SAT + SUN TBA

 

✴There is no fee. You may choose to leave a donation HERE for sessions at any time.

Donations are VERY appreciated…especially during this time of non-employment.

You can also send via Paypal using this email: stefanie.lynx.weber@gmail.com

✴Feel free to share this information and invite others!

 

Soft Shoe Boom Boom @ The Foundry

They Dance For Rain announces the long-awaited benefit event, SOFT SHOE BOOM BOOM, the echo of our wildly successful 2015 interactive fundraising event SOFT SHOE BOOM. 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2019 AT 6:30 PM – 11 PM

EVENT FEATURES
•Performance by musical artist Lonesome Bounty from Kenya
•Kenyan-inspired foods by some local favorite locals such as Firefly Gastropub & Catering Co.
•A one-of-a-kind cocktail with authentic African spirits
•Interactive & experimental live unsilent auction of music featuring Charlie Tokarz & Justin Geyer Music and more TBC
•Tap dancers!!
•Visual art silent auction that is local, bold, engaging 
featuring Ogden Gigli, Scott Barrow, Diane Firtell, Monika Pizzichemi, Michael McKay and more TBC
•The freshest news on our work in Nairobi
•Mad Libs Maasai Market Theater with Nutshell Playhouse
•Afro-pop Dance Party!

ENGAGE • EXPAND • ENJOY

We will be offering two streams for entrance:
•6:30, $50
includes food, first dibs on art, all performances, and dance party!!
•8:30, $25
includes SOFT SHOE BOOM BOOM unsilent auction & dance party!

TICKETS:
https://www.artful.ly/store/events/19074

Post-Industrial Dance

Post-Industrial Dance3

“Karibu Tena” Means Welcome Back!

Screen Shot 2019-04-07 at 1.27.17 PM
They Dance For Rain in partnership with Moving Arts Exchange (MAX) presents ‘Karibu Tena’ means ‘Welcome Back’ a fun-filled afternoon of dance and visual arts, fundraising, and community gathering on April 14th, 2019 from 12 noon to 4pm at the MAX space on 325 Stockbridge Rd in Great Barrington.
They Dance For Rain is a dance-making project that works with arts-for-social-change organizations and individual artists in urban Nairobi, Kenya.  They bring Tap shoes and the art form of Tap Dance to people with an interest and need for this unique kind of artistic self-expression. In this area of the world, Tap Dance is still quite young and the eagerness to learn it is immense. They also seek to bring visibility to an otherwise underrepresented population of dancers and slum dwellers through photography and film, and the sharing of photographic skills and equipment.  Through this continuing global exchange of artistic dialogue They Dance For Rain inspires a new generation of artists and builds robust relationships across platforms with established artists.
 
The event will feature an exhibit of select pieces from Monika’s Pizzichemi’s photographic portfolio documenting this work that she collaborated on and co-directed with action-based dance artist Stefanie Weber in Nairobi, Kenya from 2013-2016. The project They Dance For Rain is returning to the process with a residency in Nairobi in May.
 
The event on April 14th will also feature a community Tap Dance workshop with Weber and associate artist-educator JoJo McDonald at 1p, a workshop focused on learning an East African tribal dance of the Luo (Kenyan tribe) called “Kalapapla” with live drumming accompaniment led by Lara Gonzalez of Marafanyi Drum Dance and Song at 2p, and will culminate at 3p with a short presentation on the project and a premiere performance of the interactive theatrical spectacleThe Mad Libs Maasai Market Exploit which encourages guests to purchase the missing words from a handful of original comedy sketch scripts (one written by Nutshell Playhouse’s Don Jordan!) that will be acted out by a cast of actors including Diedre Bollinger and Jojo McDonald with Liv Cummins, Sarah Mitchell, and Sandy McKnight of Saturday Night Liv.
 
The event will also serve as a grand-reveal of “Flight Of Steps” by Diane Firtell, the newly painted stairwell which leads to the upper workshop room of the MAX studio. 
 
The partner in this event, Moving Arts Exchange (MAX), was created in 2016 by dancers Andrea Blacklow and Ellen Gorman and is dedicated to deepening personal connections and enhancing the vibrancy of our community through inclusive dance education for all ages. MAX also serves as a performance space for teens and local artists to share original work. On the 14th, MAX’s Teen dance company will serve as ambassadors for the Kalapapla workshop and will assist with guiding community members through the dance.
 
Doors open at 12noon with a $10 suggested donation. Children under 12 are free. Tap shoes for the 1p workshop can be reserved by contacting TD4Rkenya@gmail.com. Drummers interested in accompanying dancers for Kalapapla please contact Stefanie.lynx.weber@gmail.com