The Thunderbird American Indian Dancers are holding our annual spring Music Workshop on Saturday, March 21, 2020, from 7 to 9 PM.
The workshop is being held at American Indian Community House, 39 Eldridge Street, 4th floor, Manhattan (just north of Canal Street). Please note the change in location from last year.
The Workshop will include lessons in several Native American songs and practice on musical instruments, for all who want to participate. This is a unique educational opportunity for people of all ages (including children) and backgrounds (both Native and non-Native) to learn about Native American music and dance.
There will also be tables set up with American Indian jewelry and other handmade items, available for purchase at very reasonable prices.
All are welcome to attend. Admission is free.
Thunderbird American Indian Dancers holding Music Workshop at AICH
20 Feb 2020 Leave a comment
THUNDERBIRD AMERICAN INDIAN DANCERS’ IN CONCERT
11 Dec 2019 Leave a comment
Thunderbird schedule 2019-20 (1)10 24
Thunderbirds at Theater for the New City 2020
Theater for the New City presents:
Thunderbird American Indian Dancers’ in Concert!
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Crystal Field, Executive Director, Presents:
THUNDERBIRD AMERICAN INDIAN DANCERS’ IN CONCERT
All proceeds benefit Native American scholarship fund.
NEW YORK, October 22 — Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, will present its 44th annual Thunderbird American Dancers Dance Concert and Pow Wow from January 25 to February 3, 2019. There will be dances, stories and traditional music from Native Peoples of the Northeast, Southwest and Great Plains regions. The event has become a treasured New York tradition for celebrating our diversity by honoring the culture of our first Americans.
A Pow-Wow is more than just a spectator event: it is a joyous reunion for native peoples nationwide and an opportunity for the non-Indian community to voyage into the philosophy and beauty of Native culture. Traditionally a gathering and sharing of events, Pow-Wows have come to include spectacular dance competitions, exhibitions, and enjoyment of traditional foods.
Highlights will include storytelling by Matoaka Eagle (Santo Domingo Pueblo/ Chickahominy), Special tribute to veterans featuring Alan Shooting Star Brown and Michael Taylor, Hoop Dances by Michael Taylor – Dancing Wolf (Choctaw/French) Matt Cross (Kiowa) and Marie Ponce (Lucayan Taino/Cherokee), a Deer Dance (from the Yaqui Tribes of Southern Arizona) with Ciaran Tufford (Mayan) and Carlos Ponce (Mayan), and various ensemble dances: a Grass Dance and Jingle…more and get tickets
Discounts available for Matinees $1 for kids for matinees
Thunderbird Holiday Party Dec 21th
20 Nov 2019 Leave a comment
in aich, Native American Performances and Workshops, Thunderbird AiCH, Thunderbird American Indian Dancers, Thunderbird American Indian Dancers Press, Thunderbird workshop, Thunderbird workshops, Thunderbirds at TNC Tags: Thunderbird Annual Concert, Thunderbird Holiday Party, Thunderbirds Potluck
Print out schedule by clicking:
Mark your calendars for Thunderbird American Indian Dancers in Concert at Theater for the New City Fridays Through Sundays January 25-27 & February 1-3. Matinees are discounted ($1 for kids).
Get TNC Show Tickets click here
Louis Mofsie’s Bessie Award to air on PBS
17 Nov 2019 Leave a comment
Thunderbird Native American Auction at AICH
14 Nov 2019 Leave a comment
Thunderbird Native American Auction at AICH
Saturday
November 16, 2019
8 – 10 PM
Native American Auction
Auction 8– 10 PM
at The American Indian Community House
39 Eldridge St, 4th floor, New York City
Native American jewelry, pottery, regalia, collectibles, etc, at great prices.
Print flyers by clicking:
Thunderbird Auction Nov 2019
Thunderbird schedule 2019-20
TONITE!! LOUIS MOFSIE TO RECEIVE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE FIELD OF DANCE
14 Oct 2019 Leave a comment
TONITE!! LOUIS MOFSIE AND JOAN MYERS BROWN TO RECEIVE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE FIELD OF DANCE
Joan Myers Brown PHOTO by Deborah Boardman
Louis Mofsie – Hopi/Winnebago. Photo by Jonathan Slaff
SEE PRESS RELEASE below…
For Immediate Release
JOAN MYERS BROWN TO RECEIVE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AND LOUIS MOFSIE TO RECEIVE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE FIELD OF DANCE
New York, NY, August 13, 2019 – The NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, New York City’s premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announced today the recipients of two special awards. The 2019 Bessie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance will go to Joan Myers Brown, Founder and Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO), in recognition of decades of choreographic influence on and support of the work of black American dance artists. The 2019 Bessie Award for Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance will be presented to Louis Mofsie, Director of Thunderbird American Indian Dancers, whose work has kept Native American dance forms alive for generations of young people.
“We are thrilled to honor Joan and Louis, two legends in our field,” said Lucy Sexton, Executive Director, NY Dance and Performance Awards. “Their work has inspired dancers and educated audiences in ways that have enriched and strengthened dance in our country and we look forward to celebrating their accomplishments.”
The two awards will be presented at the 35th annual Bessie Awards ceremony on Monday, October 14, at 7:30pm, at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia Place, New York, NY 10012). Tickets for the event are available online at https://tickets.nyu.edu/10398.
Joan Myers Brown is an artist, a visionary, and an entrepreneur, listed in Who’s Who in America as a powerhouse “Philadelphia Leader.” She is the executive artistic director of the Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO), which she founded in 1970, and the Philadelphia School of Dance Arts, which she created in 1960. She also serves as honorary chairperson for the International Association of Blacks in Dance, an organization she established in 1991, which received a Bessie Award in 2000. Brown is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of the Arts, which bestowed upon her an honorary doctorate of fine arts. She was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Ursinus College, and is a member of the dance faculty at Howard University. She also received an honorary doctorate of arts from the University of Pennsylvania. Brown has served a broad range of regional and national organizations, including NEFA’s National Dance Project, the United States Information Agency, Arts America, the National Endowment for the Arts, National Forum for Female Leaders, Philadelphia’s Mayor’s Cultural Advisory Council, and many others. Among Brown’s many honors is the “Dance Women: Living Legends Award,” a tribute to five African-American women, who founded distinguished modern dance companies with deep roots in black communities around the country. She has also received Dance USA’s Honor Award. She is a recipient of a 2012 National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest civic honor for excellence in the arts. President Barack Obama cited her for carving out “an artistic haven for African American dancers and choreographers to innovate, create, and share their unique visions with the national
and global dance communities.” Her legacy has been documented in the 2011 book Joan Myers Brown & the Audacious Hope of the Black Ballerina: A Bio-history of American Performance.
Louis Mofsie, a lifelong champion and custodian of the Native American culture, is the director of the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers, the oldest resident Native American dance company in New York City. The troupe was founded in 1963 by a group of ten Indigenous men and women, all New Yorkers, who were descended from Mohawk, Hopi, Winnebago, and San Blas tribes. Within a few years, the company was traveling throughout the continental U.S., expanding and sharing their repertoire and learning new dances on the reservations. Over the years, Thunderbird works, activities, and events have assisted more than 400 students. The company has toured all over the United States, Japan, and Israel. Mofsie, who was born in Brooklyn and is of Hopi and Winnebago heritage, is also a founding member of the American Indian Community House, where he has served as the chairman of the board for over 15 years. His New York City choreographic credits include Operation Sidewinders with the Lincoln Center Repertory Company, among others. As an artist, he has illustrated the children’s books The Hopi Way, Coyote Tales, and Folktales of the American Indian, written by Dee Brown. He has also recorded two albums, Louis Mofsie Traditional American Indian Songs & Music and Dances and Songs of the American Indians. Mofsie is the recipient of many accolades, including a 1991 N.Y.C. Leadership Award from Law Department and Mayor’s Office. In 2017, Mofsie was honored (along with Garth Fagan and Martha Myers) with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Dance Guild.
Link to download photos here.
ABOUT THE BESSIES The NY Dance and Performance Awards have saluted outstanding and groundbreaking creative work in the dance field in New York City for 35 years. Known as “The Bessies” in honor of revered dance teacher Bessie Schönberg, the awards were established in 1984 by David R. White at Dance Theater Workshop. They recognize outstanding work in choreography, performance, music composition, and visual design. Nominees are chosen by a selection committee comprised of artists, presenters, producers, and writers. All those working in the dance field are invited to join the NY Dance and Performance League as members and participate in annual discussions on the direction of the awards and nominate members to serve on the selection committee. For more information about The Bessies, visit http://www.bessies.org.
The 2019 Bessie Awards Steering Committee, responsible for setting policy and providing oversight for the Bessie Awards throughout the year, is comprised of Cora Cahan, Beverly D’Anne, Jeanne Linnes, Stanford Makishi, Nicky Paraiso, Carla Peterson, Gus Solomons jr, Paz Tanjuaquio, Judy Hussie-Taylor, Laurie Uprichard, and Martin Wechsler.
The 2018–2019 Bessie Awards Selection Committee: Ronald Alexander, Elise Bernhardt, Charles Vincent Burwell, Diana Byer, Tymberly Canale, Alexis Convento, Parijat Desai, Maura Donohue, Boo Froebel, Angela Fatou Gittens, Diane Grumet, Brinda Guha, Joseph Hall, Mai Lê Hô, Iréne Hultman, Celia Ipiotis, Koosil-ja, Fernando Maneca, Lydia Mokdessi, Harold Norris, Craig Peterson, Doug Post, Rajika Puri, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, Susan Reiter, Walter Rutledge, George Emilio Sanchez, Andrea Snyder, Sally Sommer, Risa Steinberg, Carrie Stern, Catherine Tharin, Tony Waag, and William Whitener.
Press contacts:
Janet Stapleton – 212-633-0016 / stapleton.janet@gmail.com
Kamila Slawinski – 347-534-6029 / kamila@kamilaslawinski.com
Follow The Bessies on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: #theBessies / @bessieawards
Native American Dance Workshop and Crafts Sale October 2019
30 Sep 2019 Leave a comment
