The Debbie Allen Dance Academy kicked off their month-long celebration, “HERstory: In Honor of Women’s History Month.”
The debut weekend took place at The Rhimes Performing Arts Center Mar.2 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Mar.3 from 4p.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday’s event showcased a fine arts gallery featuring women artists’ never before seen work and live dance performances from Debbie Allen Dance Academy dancers.
Mar 3. was the Arts market festival, it supported over 40 women-owned businesses of all sorts and had live dances and musical performances.
The artist showcases were presented every 10 minutes including violinists, folklorico dancers ,opera singers and film makers.
Live painting, custom ring making, tooth gems, tarot readings, face painting and more were featured within the market.
The Debbie Allen instagram page described the herstory event as “celebrating our trailblazing past while uncovering the unspoken narrative of modern day female artists.”
“HERSTORY for us is a beginning, a celebration at the Rhimes performing arts center, It’s the first year and we’ll be doing it every year for a month,” says Debbie Allen, director, actress, dancer and founder of DADA.
Everyone in the room has their own version of what HERstory was to them.
“HERSTORY to me is a combination of the storytelling of the history of women,” Allen continued, “and our power and how we have helped manifest the human race, what our job is now”
Genevieve Gros-Louis, a Violinist and producer, performed a piece titled “For Our Sisters” which raises awareness for the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
“HERstory is being able to tell your own story under your own terms and being able to also tell stories that are difficult in moments where it’s hard to speak up for yourself,” says Gros-Louis.
Women filled the room to support and uplift each other.
Uma Leoni, painter and content creator says “A lot of art shows I have been in, are really dominated by men.
“ It’s really beautiful to see how women interpret the world, how we express ourselves, and how beautiful our work is. So it’s nice to see a room full of us,” she explained.
Leoni said, it is important to be her authentic self so that other women in creative spaces can see that a creative career is possible in response to the stigma that creative careers can be unstable.
The Debbie Allen Dance Academy is a “non-profit organization that offers a comprehensive dance curriculum to students ages four and up.”
“When I opened this amazing center I had in mind that it would become a culture oasis for the entire community,” says Allen.
The Debbie Allen Dance Academy will be hosting several events throughout rest of the month of March.
Each event will focus on women who are a driving force in their profession. March 9 will focus on Women in film. March 17 will celebrate women in fashion. March 23 will highlight men who love women. The month-long event will end on March 26 with a celebration of women writers, including a private book reading and signing of “A Renaissance of our own” by Rachel Cargle.
