Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees (PAIR) of Houston and Battery Dance of New York announce, “Building Bridges to Counter Islamophobia”. The series will include Battery Dance’s signature Dancing to Connect program for the youth and spoken word and dance performances.

The teaching artists of internationally renowned Battery Dance will lead teams of Houston youth, ages 12-19 from diverse backgrounds, with a specially designed syllabus of creative exercises that create a safe space, break down barriers of distrust and discrimination, and build mutual respect and understanding. The creative workshops will help participants create movement phrases that become the building blocks of a finished piece of choreography that tell their stories. The creative workshops are based on Dancing to Connect, an award-winning arts education approach that the Company has conducted in 60 countries and across the U.S. The workshops yield original dance creations to be presented by the youth in a performance that also includes Battery’s own dancers in Wind in the Olive Grove by Syrian-German choreographer Saeed Hani.

Dancing to Connect: 16, 2022 7:00 p.m. at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts - Zilkha Hall.

Tickets are free to the public and may be reserved at: https://my.thehobbycenter.org/5572

Spoken word and dance presentations feature LA-based singer/dancer Ali Alkaabi and Houston-based story-teller Ahmed Abdulmajeed, both refugees from Iraq. Spoken Word & Dance has been produced by Battery Dance with different casts in New York and Los Angeles.

Spoken Word & Dance: Tuesday, July 12th and Thursday, July 14th, 6.30 pm at Stages Repertory Theater.

Tickets are free to the public and may be reserved at: https://tinyurl.com/spokenwordanddance

PAIR and Battery Dance are recipients of a grant from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art through the Building Bridges Program, whose mission is to support national efforts, working with U.S. Muslims, to increase mutual understanding and well-being among diverse populations for the benefit of building stronger, inclusive communities. Additional support has been provided through the Houston Arts Alliance.