Category: News

3/19/2013

Words Taking Shape Spectacular Success

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"I am Ashley SK Davis, and this is Pieces of a Dream, Inc." Thus concluded a wonderful evening of movement, tears, and laughter on March 2 at the Wilmington Drama League. Pieces of a Dream, Inc. presented its Sixth Annual dance concert "Words Taking Shape" at the venue on Lea Boulevard in Wilmington to a packed house. True to its missionary focus of presenting meaningful and socially-relevant works, "Words Taking Shape" showed the beauty of movement while simultaneously challenging the viewer to think critically. By the end of the 90 minute performance, all those audience members were more than satisfied.

The first half of the show was actually an encore of the production "Moved...by Words, by Silence, by Sounds", which premiered at the Fringe Wilmington Festival in September 2012. This series of four suites uses poetry and prose in lieu of music as a backdrop for the movement. While most of the spoken word is pre-recorded audio, two of the segments require the dancers to speak as they dance. In "Mom, I Wish..." the dancers were asked to write a "letter" to their mothers with this prompt, which they then complemented with movement. The other piece that did not use a recorded track featured not speech, but sound. A large section in "Moved...by Power" is performed entirely in silence, with sounds, syllables, and phrases of words inserted sporadically. The highlight of the first half was the final dance in "Moved...by Pain", a solo choreographed and performed by Pieces of a Dream, Inc. veteran Ashlei G. Randolph. This suite on grief also included a duet by Ketruah Braithwaite and La-Chelle Dickenson and a group piece to a section of Kalil Gibran's The Prophet and Psalm 23. Ms. Randolph's performance was set to "2 Pearls", a poem by Gayle Danley, in memory of her mother's battle with lung cancer. The combination of Ms. Danley's words and Ms. Randolph's movement left a definitive impression on everyone in the audience.

Act II was equally poignant. The first suite, "The New Normal?", addresses the seeming conflict between the American value of the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and the Constitutionally-guaranteed right to bear arms. The suite is divided into three scenes: A child caught in the crossfire of gang violence, a bullied high school student who decided to exact vengeance on her tormentors, and the "paradise" that is left behind in the wake of such barbarity. The goal of this piece is a question why we are no longer appalled to hear news about violent shooting deaths, and whether the public has become complicit in the deaths of children by our silence and inaction.

The final suite of the concert was certainly the crowd favorite of many in the audience. "In a Dark and Lonesome Place, Seeking Light" is a window into the life of someone suffering from depression. Our protagonist seeks many different options to find "the light", and finally is triumphant. This piece, again featuring Ms. Randolph, is relevant to another struggling through a difficult life episode.

With all the heaviness of the dances, the evening ended on a fun note. Ms. Davis enlisted the audience in helping POAD, Inc. film a "Harlem Shake" video. Dancers and non-dancers alike joined in the creation of this laughter-inducing video. The video will be available on our website and YouTube channel shortly.

If you missed the performance, or just want to see it again, the DVD of "Words Taking Shape" is available for order on our Shop page.

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8/27/2012

A Busy August!

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Pieces of a Dream, Inc. has had a wonderfully busy month! I hope that you had the opportunity to participate in a few of our events.

On Wednesday, August 22, Pieces of a Dream Dance Theatre, P*D2, and energetic members of the community converged at Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington for a FLASH MOB! We danced to Beyonce's "Move Your Body", and also performed a preview from our upcoming concert, "Moved...by Words, by Silence, by Sound". The performance is part of the Fringe Wilmington Festival 2012 and will be held at the baby grand (818 North Market Street, Wilmington, DE 19801) on Thursday, September 27 (8:30PM), Friday, September 28 (6:30PM), and Saturday, September 29 (8:00PM). Tickets cost only $5, plus Festival admission, and can be purchased at www.FringeWilmingtonDE.com.

Another big event for August was our third-annual Pre-Season Ballet Intensive. As always, the intensive was conducted by Ballet Master Benjamin Sterling Cannon, who delivered a great techique workout in preparation for the upcoming season. If you missed this six-session ballet class, you truly MISSED OUT! Check our MOVE page for other master classes and intensives offered throughout the year, and be sure to register for the 2013 Pre-Season Ballet Intensive next summer.

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6/22/2009

Clifford Brown Jazz Festival Duke Ellington Sacred Concert

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Wilmington News Journal photographer Fred Comegys captured the curtain call.

Ashley L. Sullivan-Kirksey and several members of the Pieces of a Dream Dance Theatre were featured performers in this years production of the Duke Ellington Sacred Concerts. The concert was the culminating event of the Wilmington's annual Clifford Brown Jazz Festival. Pieces of a Dream, Inc. members Ashlei Randolph, Viveca Hutchinson, Adiah Simpson, and Dietra Hunter were joined by Nashira Council, Amanda Pollard, Charles Russell, Roberto Rodreiguez-Garcia, and Nicole Starcheski to perform in five featured selectioned with music by the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Choir.

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6/9/2009

Pieces of a Dream to perform at Clifford Brown Jazz Festival June 21st

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Duke Ellington Sacred Music Concert
Sunday June 21, 2009 from 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Grand Opera House
818 N Market St
Wilmington, Delaware 19801

Pieces of a Dream will be performing at the Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert at the close of the 2009 DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Festival—Wilmington’s premier music festival and the largest free jazz festival in the Mid-Atlantic.

The tickets are free, but you must reserve a ticket at the Festival website.

Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts, led by acclaimed local conductor and music educator David Christopher and performed by approximately 150 instrumentalists, vocalists, and dancers. Featured performers will include award-winning tap dancer Joseph Webb, whose performances include Savion Glover’s Bring in ‘Da Noise Bring in ‘Da Funk; the Pieces of a Dream Modern Dance Theatre; and several distinguished soloists, including vocalist Devonne Gardner, who soloed for Ellington when he debuted the Sacred Concerts; 13-year-old vocalist Halima Bleu of Wilmington, who performed the role of Nala in the Broadway production of The Lion King; and Iris Fairfax, Lawler Rogers, and Zen Aura. Featured instrumentalists include trumpeters Nick Corvino and Matt Gallagher, bassist Rob Swanson, and pianist Dennis Fortune. The Wilmington Children’s Chorus will also perform.

Website: http://www.cliffordbrownjazzfest.com/

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6/8/2009

Pieces of a Dream, Sullivan-Kirksey featured in news

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Pieces of a Dream, Inc and Executive and Artistic Director Ashley Sullivan-Kirsey have had several mentions in the news lately.

On June 5, Ashley and the Richardson Park Hip Hoppers featured by ABC channel 6's Lauren Wilson in "Hip to New School Activities". You can see the spot above, an ad plays first. From the feature:

"There's something happening at a school in Wilmington that has students smiling, working really hard, and doing some dancing too.

Recess is indoors on a rainy day, but that doesn't matter to a group of girls at the Richardson Park Elementary School. They gave up recess after they got hip to a better way to spend their free time

It is hip hop.

It is a new initiative designed to help kids stay in shape while having fun and learning some lessons about life....

Miss Ashley has a couple of rules for the girls including 'you can't say can't' and 'you have to try.'

On May 28, Ashley and the Richardson Park Hip Hoppers were the Cover story for the News Journal Crossroads Magazine. From the article:

"Dance, Sullivan-Kirksey says, teaches them so much. In addition to physical activity, it teaches them discipline."...The girls agree that their instructor has high expectations. One if her rules is, "You have to try it" and another, "you can't say can't." Yet, says Jones, "when people do it wrong, she works with you until you get it right." "She teaches us how to work as a team." says Ashley Galindez-Ceballos."

The article is in the News Journal Archive on there website, but will be included on our upcoming press page, if you'd like to read the full article.

On April 30th Pieces of a Dream was the also the Crossroads cover story in Janel Atlas' "'Movement' as statement"

"On March 27, Pieces of a Dream presented "Social Movement," a dance performance using historic civil-rights era music with dramatic modern choreography to open a dialogue about race.

Among the movements of the show was "Riot-Us Behavior," a dance-dramatization of the Wilmington race riots, including music and speeches by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, Mavis Staples and Boyz II Men.

Part of the performance illustrated the horror and grief that poured out when King was assassinated in April 1968; the entire cast stood watching an off-stage blue glow, while the audio of archival reporting about King's death played.

The collective gasp of the dancers and their writhing movements brought into sharp relief the communal loss of hope that day."

Scans and pictures from the articles will be posted soon on our new press page, so if you missed these the first time around, you'll be able to read the full story there.

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3/29/2009

Social Movement/Pieces of a Dream on Facebook,Twitter etc.

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Thanks to everyone who came out to see Social Movement on Friday. The dancers put on a wonderful performance and thanks to your support it was a terrific success! Stay tuned for pictures and mores news from the show.

Not only can you keep up with the Company's upcoming events and news here on the website, add us as a friend on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Flickr, and Yahoo's Upcoming event calendars.

The social networks we belong to are always listed on the contact page.

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11/9/2007

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MACY's Shop for a Cause October 13
Pieces of a Dream Performance Theatre and P*D 2 both presented stellar performances at MACY’s Christiana Mall “Shop of a Cause” in Christiana, Delaware. This year the proceeds benefited the Red Cross and several other organizations. Pieces of a Dream opened the show, which featured dancers from various schools and studios performing for the MACY’s shoppers throughout the day. A variety of dance styles were presented: P*D 2 wowed the shoppers with hip hop (“Get It Shawtie”), modern (“Change Gonna Come”), and acrobatics (“Total Praise”) and Pieces of a Dream Performance Theatre was featured with a fun tap number (“All That Jazz”). Overall, the performance was a wonderful success and the dancers were pleased to be a part of this important fundraiser.

Listen UP! October 5
P*D 2 performed “Change Gonna Come” at this event sponsored by the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Organized specifically to address concerns of the teenage community, the primary purpose of Listen Up was to feature film shorts created by local teenagers about domestic violence. In addition to the film screening, several other young adult groups addressed the issue of domestic violence through various art forms. The informal program included singers, visual art displays, and, of course, P*D 2 performance to Patti LaBalle’s remake of this Sam Cooke classic. During the dance, a duet, the room was darkened, with only a spotlight illuminating the dancers. At the conclusion of the piece, the one hundred members of the audience arouse with resounding applause and cheers. Pieces of a Dream P*D 2 did indeed steal the show!

CFBC Pastor's Anniversary September 9
Pieces of a Dream Performance Theatre had its inaugural performance at CornerstoneFellowshipBaptistChurch for the Pastor’s 15th Anniversary. Pieces of a Dream, Inc. was specifically invited to help commemorate Rev. Dr. Donald E. Dunnigan Sr.’s fifteen years as pastor of Cornerstone in Wilmington, Delaware. Performing to “Revelations 7:13-17” by the Wilmington Chester Mass Choir, the quartet presented a moving and spiritual display to help celebrate this important milestone.

Lights, Camera, Fashion! August 25 P*D 2 showed that they know how to work a runway just as wall as a dance floor when they performed at “Lights, Camera, Fashion.” Aspiring young designer Rykia Woodard-Deputy premiered her clothing line, K-Fashions, which is created specifically for teenagers. P*D 2 members also showed off their unique sense of fashion as they performed a hip hop piece to “Get It Shawtie” by Llyod.