“Sacred Slave Stories,” created by Dario J. Moore, tells the stories of actual slaves through original music and the emotional impact of dance. The Center for Contemporary Dance has received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which it will use to produce Moore Dance Project’s “Sacred Slave Stories” for Orange County schoolchildren. This is the second year that “Sacred Slave Stories” has received a grant through the program. The contemporary dance program will be presented to 1,000 students from Orange County Title I public schools throughout February in partnership with the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center in Sanford.
Student presentations of “Sacred Slave Stories” are further supported by funding from United Arts of Central Florida, the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs, Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation and Target Stores.
I went to the Center of Contemporary Dance to sketch a rehearsal of “Sacred Slave Stories.” The personal stories gathered are harsh and real. A woman related how severe a beating she got when she ate some bread she found while she was cleaning a home. The contemporary dance was narrative and powerful. A dancer raised a fist in anger but was held back by his lover. Male dancers moved huge imaginary loads on their backs, pausing under the weight. The dance is meant to convey hope while acknowledging the harsh and brutal realities of slavery.
The Center for Contemporary Dance
presented its 2012-2013 Season Preview, which took place
on Sunday, November 18, 2012 at Trinity Preparatory School in Winter
Park. This season preview introduced the organization’s Eleventh
Annual Season of Dance, and included sneak-peek performances of upcoming
works in the 2012-2013 event season.