photo by Jeanne S. Mam-Luft
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We hope this letter finds you safe and healthy. These are uncertain times but we know that the resilient human spirit is also proving to answer the call of compassion and innovation. Our mission at Exchange Choreography is to foster dialogue to support, explore and inform the artists’ process in dancemaking.
We, at The Bell House, value the human soul above our own agenda, and having sought wisdom, it is our decision to move the 2020 Exchange Choreography Festival online due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. We are confident that our mission to support the work and process of dancemakers will not only be fulfilled but will unify us in solidarity. What is in reality a dark time in our world has the potential to open opportunities to make work side by side with those we suddenly find ourselves “with” via the web, in new working environments and with new challenges to shape our ideas. Our creative team is working diligently to shift the festival model to an online format for this year with plans toward the hope of seeing one another face-to-face again in 2021. Artists have always been the heralds of society to resolve to make art in times of crisis and while many of us had our dancemaking processes interrupted, we hope that moving Exchange online will encourage all of us to continue the work and will give us new energy to process those interrupted works until they become something new; new creative fuel and new inspiration. As revered visual artist, Makoto Fujimura, stated, “More than ever, we are faced with the unique opportunity to be a body of people who brings people together, to find common threads of community. Someday, when we emerge from this strange period of our lives, I hope we will do so with a renewed appreciation for generative and generous relationships.” We wholeheartedly agree and hope you will join us online this year. Sincerely, Rachel Bruce Johnson |
The Bell House is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization.