Project History
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Azerbaijan
In November 2010, Daniel Banks was invited to present the work of Theatre Without Borders at the First International Baku Theatre Conference, lead workshops with local artists and students at several institutions, and give a presentation to the local theatre community on Hip Hop Theatre. In addition, the Ministry of Culture and the US Embassy in Baku co-hosted the first ever Hip Hop Theatre workshop in Azerbaijan, which Daniel led, assisted by local Hip Hop community member Teymur Tahmazov.
Ghana
In 2006, Daniel and Adam taught on the NYU-in Ghana-Program at University of Ghana, Legon. While in Ghana, they worked with such communities as the Jews of Sefwi Wiawso in the Western Region, the Children’s Christian Storehouse Conservatory in Accra, and in Buduburam, the former UNHCR refugee camp. Adam taught dance and choreographed for several companies and schools, including Ghana's National School for the Deaf and the State Mental Hospital.
Hungary
DNAWORKS has been working on a multi-year collaboration with the Regional English Language Office of the US Embassy in Budapest. In addition to drama and self-expression workshops at the Roma and Friends Camp in Balatonlelle, DNAWORKS facilitated pedagogy workshops with the teachers of the campers, Artist Roundtable conversations in Budapest, and arts and dialogue sessions at the Lauder/Joint International Jewish Youth Camp in Szarvas. Adam McKinney also taught dance classes for the Bozsik Yvette Dance Company and Mozdulatmuvészeti Stúdio.
Indonesia
In 2008, Adam was invited by Namarina Youth Dance (Jakarta) to teach master dance classes, lead dance teacher trainings, and to choreograph a new work, Pathways, which revolves around women's journeys to their present places in society and the manner in which society creates the pathways we all take. This piece remains in Namarina’s repertory.
Israel/Palestine
In 2009, Adam and Daniel created a new devised dance-theatre piece with Beta Dance Troupe, an Ethiopian-Israeli Dance Company based in Haifa. They also worked with two youth severely wounded in the attack on the LGBT Center in Tel Aviv. Daniel led Hip Hop Theatre workshops as a means for community building and self-expression with Arab and Jewish Israeli teens, Adam taught dance classes at various institutions, and they led workshops with Arab women teachers in Israel and Jewish Israeli and Arab women poets in Palestine.
Italy
In 2009, Daniel was invited to give a week-long Hip Hop Theatre workshop at La MaMa Umbria’s International Symposium for Directors. Daniel conducted workshops on the Hip Hop Theatre Initiative’s methodology with participants from Singapore, Korea, Russia, Australia, Taiwan, and the U.S. In 2011, DNAWORKS returned to present HaMapah/The Map during the La MaMa Spoleto Open Festival at the brand new Spazio Teatro.
Mexico
Under the auspices of the Hip Hop Theatre Initiative and the US Embassy in Mexico City, DNAWORKS traveled to three communities in Oaxaca State, Mexico, to facilitate dialogue and collaborative art in communities suffering from police harassment and brutality, drug abuse, and the impact of mass immigration in the search for better jobs and wages. This program represented the US Embassy’s first work with the Afro-Mexican community.
Serbia
DNAWORKS was invited to participate in the 2011 Passing the Flame Festival to mark the 20th anniversary of Dah Teatar in Belgrade, Serbia. At the festival, DNAWORKS performed HaMapah/The Map to a standing-room-only, late-night crowd, followed by a community dialogue. Daniel also led a Hip Hop Theatre workshop assisted by Christopher Rivas, which included young members of the local community, as well as professional theatre artists from around Europe, the US, and New Zealand. In addition, Daniel spoke on the “Theatre and Peacebuilding” panel about his Hip Hop Theatre work in Ghana and South Africa.
South Africa
In 2006, Daniel and Adam spent six weeks as Culture Connect Envoys through the US Embassy. Daniel directed a workshop production of US-writer Zakiyyah Alexander’s Hip Hop Theatre play Blurring Shine at the historic Market Theatre, where he also led a Hip Hop Theatre Lab. He led workshops at several schools, theatres, and in Langa township near Capetown. Together, Adam and Daniel led a self-expression and leadership workshop through in the Atlantis township, as well as in several schools in Soweto. Adam co-choreographed Pretending to be Something, Now Coming from Nothing with Agulhas Theatre Works of Johannesburg and taught at notable dance schools and companies.
North America
DNAWORKS has led programming and workshops at such institutions as Wellesley College, California Institute of the Arts, Babson College, Bryn Mawr College, New York University, University of California Berkeley, University of California Riverside, DePaul University, and Rhodes College, among others. The organization has worked with community organizations and congregations in such locations as Salt Lake City, UT; Atlanta, GA; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Tacoma, WA; Los Angeles, CA; and New York, NY. In addition, DNAWORKS has led creativity-based trainings for such organizations as the Eldridge Street Museum, The Curriculum Initiative, The Insight Fellowship/Shusterman Foundation, the Bronfman Center at NYU, the Academy for Jewish Religion, and Black Theatre Network.
Choose a location:
Azerbaijan
Ghana
Hungary
Indonesia
Israel/Palestine
Italy
Mexico
North America
Serbia
South Africa
Phone: 212-765-4914 Fax: 866-394-6033 info@dnaworks.org