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BayDance.com A Ballet and Modern Dance Information Resource Who's dancing what, when and where around San Francisco Bay Press Release from ODC/Dance

US Dept. of State Awards DanceMotion USA to ODC

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State and Brooklyn Academy of
Music (BAM) announced that ODC/Dance is one of three dance company recipients of the inaugural DanceMotion USA,
a unique program dedicated to sharing the story of American dance with international audiences.
Conceived and funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and produced by BAM—with
supplementary educational support by Pfizer—DanceMotion USAsm invites three American companies to
share our rich dance culture in separate performance tours in 2010.

The representative companies invited to participate in the inaugural DanceMotion USA program are
Evidence, A Dance Company (based in Brooklyn, NY); ODC/Dance (based in San Francisco, CA); and
Urban Bush Women (also Brooklyn-based). Each company will make a four-week tour of one region
during the period of January–April, 2010: Evidence will tour Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal),
ODC/Dance will tour to the East Asian and Pacific region (Thailand, Burma, Indonesia), and Urban Bush
Women will tour South America (Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia). The companies’ activities will
include vital outreach, including workshops, master classes, media interviews, and discussions with local
artists and foreign audiences. The selected companies are working with organizers at DanceMotion USAsm
to develop informative materials to lay the groundwork for fruitful exchange and ensure the effectiveness
of this exciting program.

Alina L. Romanowski, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Professional and Cultural Exchanges at the U.S.
Department of State said, “President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton have emphasized the need for
the United States to use ‘smart power’ in foreign affairs. Cultural exchanges, such as DanceMotion
USAsm, present America in a way that is accessible to everyone and demonstrate the United States’
commitment to exemplifying American culture and values as we reach out to audiences around the
world.”

 

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