FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Los Angeles-based Dance Company Jazz Tap Ensemble Tours Africa With U.S. Department of State's DanceMotion USA(SM)
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
April 10, 2012
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Brooklyn Academy of Music will send Jazz Tap Ensemble, a Los Angeles-based dance company, to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe to tour as part of DanceMotion USASM, April 9-May 5.
DanceMotion USASM sends American dance companies overseas to engage with audiences and communities, especially underserved youth, through dance and a variety of other means. DanceMotion USASM builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power” diplomacy. It embraces the full use of diplomatic tools, in this case dance, to engage people and create opportunities for greater understanding.
Jazz Tap Ensemble, under the artistic direction of dancer-choreographer Lynn Dally, blends two great American traditions: rhythm tap dance and jazz music. The group, comprised of both dancers and musicians, will perform and participate in outreach and educational activities including workshops, master classes, stage and arts management sessions, media interviews, and discussions with foreign and local audiences in a wide variety of venues and settings.
The company will travel to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo; Maputo, Mozambique; Bulawayo and Harare, Zimbabwe.
DanceMotion USASM is a public-private partnership with the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Additional sponsors include J.P. Morgan, Pfizer, and the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation.
