FREDERIKSTED — The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) will host a series of dance workshops this week led by visiting international dance artists Jelon Vieira and Dyane Harvey. UVI students and dance enthusiasts throughout the Territory are invited to attend sessions March 24-26, on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix in the newly opened dance studio. The Visiting Dance Artists Series will also be streamed live via Zoom.
Jelon Vieira is the founder of Capoeira Luanda, The Capoeira Foundation, and founder and artistic director of DanceBrazil. He began training in his native Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Vieira is recognized as one of the first people to bring the Brazilian Art of Capoeira to the United States. His workshops are scheduled on March 24, from 2:30 – 3:15 pm; March 24, from 4 – 5:15 pm; and March 26, from noon – 1 p.m. No dance experience is required.
Dyane Harvey-Salaam is a founding member of Forces of Nature Dance Theatre and has had a 45-plus year career as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. For more than 25 years she was a principal soloist with the Eleo Pomare Dance Company, touring the US, Italy, Australia, and Nigeria as a US representative in FESTAC, the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture. Harvey-Salaam will teach a Pilates class on March 24, from 4 -5:15 p.m.; an Afro-Diaspora class on March 25, from 2:30 – 3:45 p.m.; and a Pilates class on March 26, from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. Intermediate dance experience is recommended.
UVI’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences is offering the free workshops to raise awareness of its dance program and to provide current dance students with the opportunity to experience new techniques and network with dance professionals. Proof of vaccination is required to participate in person. To participate virtually, use this link: https://zoom.us/j/6132049503. For questions about the classes and the UVI dance program, please contact djassi.johnson@uvi.edu.