The Politics of Movement: When Dance Speaks Out
Two-night dance performance exploring protest, resistance, and social justice featuring eight companies and choreographers with post-performance conversations.
The Politics of Movement: When Dance Speaks Out is a historic collaboration between Clark Center NYC and The American Dance Guild, marking their first joint presentation. This two-night performance event takes place April 14-15, 2026 at 7:00 PM at the Theater at the 14th Street Y in New York City.
The program brings together eight dance companies and choreographers whose work spans generations, aesthetics, and cultural lineages to explore protest, resistance, identity, and social justice through the visceral language of dance. The performance examines how dance has long served as both witness and catalyst, from anti-fascist statements of the 1930s to contemporary explorations of migration, war, race, and national identity.
Each evening concludes with a post-performance conversation with the choreographers, inviting audiences to engage more deeply with the artistic and political questions raised onstage. At a moment when democratic values and human rights remain under global strain, The Politics of Movement affirms dance as an essential, embodied form of civic expression.
The program features historic works reimagined, including Anna Sokolow's 1937 anti-fascist protest work Slaughter of the Innocents, reconstructed and reimagined nearly 80 years later by Artistic Director Samantha Geracht using archival materials, embodied lineage, and historical research.
Clark Center NYC, founded in 1959 with support from Alvin Ailey, provided critical opportunities for black dancers and choreographers historically excluded from mainstream concert stages. The American Dance Guild, established in 1956, remains one of the nation's first dance service organizations committed to artistic excellence, accessibility, and intergenerational exchange.