Originally posted March 30, 2016 by Joshua Barone, The New York Times.
The choreographers Larry Keigwin, Stephen Petronio and Reggie Wilson will take their companies on tour to nine countries around the world for the sixth season of DanceMotion USA, a cultural exchange program presented by the State Department and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Each of the dance troupes will spend a month in 2017 visiting three countries, with an eye toward connecting with marginalized people through performance and education. Companies will take part in workshops and outreach events that promote, for example, the empowerment of women and groups like at-risk youth and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
The program uses “the universal language of movement as a means of communication,” Joseph V. Melillo, the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s executive producer, said in a statement. “It has had enormous impact on the global communities it has touched, and has inspired and enriched our dance-ambassadors.”
Mr. Keigwin, whose “Rush Hour” recently had its premiere as part of the Paul Taylor American Modern Dance season at the David H. Koch Theater, will travel to the Ivory Coast, Ethiopia and Tunisia with Keigwin & Company. The Stephen Petronio Company, which ended its season at the Joyce Theater on March 13, will perform in Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. And Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group will head to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Panama.
As part of DanceMotion USA, international companies will make their way to the United States for their own residencies. Those plans will be announced at a later date.