Sun Ra | The PLD Project

WE HEREBY DECLARE OURSELVES TO BE ANOTHER ORDER OF BEING..... AN ASTRO NATION OF THE UNITED WORLD OF OUTER SPACE. "- Sun Ra

Sun Ra will be a contemporary dance work influenced by the avant-garde jazz musician, Sun Ra, and his contributions to Afrofuturism. This work will explore the end of planet Earth and the start of a new planet rebirthed in a reformed society free from bondage, systemic racism, etc that has violently oppressed people of Color. The inhabitants of this futuristic world only promote liberation for all. There is no place for damaging power structures here- only healing and reconnection with self and culture. This is another world...they have not told you of.

This work in progress will be presented on April 8th at 8pm and April 10th at 4pm at the Windmill Arts Center in Atlanta, Ga in partnership with Fly on a Wall's Excuse the Art (ETA) series. Choreography by Indya Childs.

Would you like to support this work?

Donate to our FRACTURED ATLAS CAMPAIGN!

All donations will go towards the following:

Dancer Stipends
Knee Pads
Afrofuturistic Headcrests

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

* Peace, Love, and Dance Project Atlanta is a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a 501(c)(3) charity. Contributions made payable to Fractured Atlas for the purposes of Peace, Love, and Dance Project Atlanta are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. If you receive a reward in exchange for your donation, the fair market value of that reward will reduce the tax-deductible portion of your donation. The value of the reward you receive will be included in your donation receipt.

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Sun Ra -
The Radical Jazz Activist

"I didn’t find being black in America to be a very pleasant experience," said Sun Ra, "but I had to have something, and that something was creating something that nobody owned but us." African-Americans had always been a secret society within greater American society, with their own music, their own language, their own rituals. This secret history could be an asset for African-Americans in the Space Age to come.

African-Americans could re-invent their past and create a futurist Utopia, perhaps on a planet other than Earth, which seemed to Sun Ra unbearably steeped in chaos and confusion.

- Source- http://www.sunraarkestra.com/

Dancers

Kendall Alexander [Dancer]

Kendall Alexander was born in New York, and graduated from Slippery Rock University in 2020
with degrees in dance and psychology. Before she moved to Atlanta, Kendall traveled to India,
Malaysian, and Thailand to teach workshops and choreograph. Kendall has also performed her
choreographic work in numerous festivals including Koresh Dance Festival, ACDA Festival,
MAD Festival 2020, and so much more. Currently, Kendall is a company member in the Adinkra
Dance Project, and she also engages other creative projects throughout the year.

Charray Helton [Dancer]

Charray Helton is a recent graduate from Alonzo King LINES BFA program. Using dance as a mode of communication with herself and others, she has begun to collaborate and produce works that express emotions and discussions that have been deemed necessary in our society today. While exploring and redefining her place in the dance community, Charray has worked closely with Indya Childs and Peace, Love, and Dance Project, challenging her perspective of the Black body in motion. In September 2020, Charray released her first dance film entitled BLACK, which explores the definition of the Black woman from her own perspective. The film has won three dance film awards this far. Currently, Charray is a working and learning freelance artist around the Atlanta area. With high hopes, she plans to continue this journey as well as to challenge not only the dancing body or the dance itself, but also the spaces it is presented in.

T'Shauna Henry [ Project Manger/ Understudy]

T'Shauna Henry has danced for over 20 years of her life including teaching and choreographing in the recent decade. She took classes at the Grayson & Lilburn Schools of Ballet later joining their company, Northeast Atlanta Ballet. She danced with Valdosta State University and Dance Ensemble at Georgia State University receiving her B.A. in Film & Media. She was also a company member and the former Multi-media Director with Gwinnett Dance Project. Currently, she is a Project Manager for Peace, Love, and Dance Project where she assists Indya organize scheduling, oversees the production of some of the projects and performances, and helps with the social media marketing by taking promotional photography. Dance being the foundation of her work, she continues to work in film and theatre as a dancer, choreographer, and photographer.

Jysenia "Jystify" Nurse [Dancer]

Jysenia has been professionally performing since age 5. She's been trained by many legends, such as Misty Copeland, Karen McDonald, Jason Samuels Smith, Wildabeast, Fikshun, Chantel Heath, Levon Campbell, Allyn Gartrell, Savion Glover, Teresa Jade and many more. She's trained in various styles: ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary, musical theatre, and more. She has been a member of many companies, like Phusion, DanceMakers of Atlanta, Infinite Dance Theatre, and more. She received two scholarships to train with Debbie Allen in her academy in LA, and was a member in two of Ms. Allen's companies. Jysenia's received over 15 scholarships with 4 of them being full ride. She is currently an Adinkra Dance Project Company member, a Kulture Kids Hip Hop Crew member, an after school counselor, and a consistently booked self manager.

Whitney Jackson [ Dancer ]

Whitney Jackson, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, took an interest in dance at a young age. She has studied with the Spelman College Dance Program, Total Dance/Dancical Productions, & The Limon Summer Dance Intensive. Whitney has worked with Dawn Axam, Julie Bour, Andre Tyson, Juel D. Lane, James Franco & Michelle Dorrance. Receiving a Bachelors in Fine Arts from The California Institute of the Arts, she has had the honor to perform with the LA based company, B. Dunn Movement Dance/Theater Company, under the artistic direction of Brigette Dunn-Korpela, as the rehearsal director. She has taught young aspiring dancers in the San Fernando Valley area of California and South Fulton area of Georgia. She is currently dancing with The Adinkra Project under the artistic direction of N.K. Condua and Komasé Dancer Theater directed by Raianna C. Brown in Atlanta,Ga. She is honored to work with both companies that inspire and celebrate the culture of dance. All together Whitney seeks to investigate authentic-visceral experience through her mind, body, and soul.

Sun Ra - The Radical Jazz Activist

Dancers

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Sun Ra -
The Radical Jazz Activist