Composers with Disabilities and Momenta Dance! celebrates the art of composers, choreographers, and dancers with disabilities from around the world! Enjoy the brand-new dances “boyh (bringer of your hair)” and “Consolation of Persephone,” created in collaboration with Momenta Dance Company, with choreography commissioned of Julia Cox and Connor Cornelius, music commissioned of Rylan Gleave and Karen Brown, and dancers of Momenta Dance Company! Hear also music by Andersen Viana of Brazil, Julio Lubin of Haiti, Yonela Mnana of South Africa, plus music of the remarkable African-American composer Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins, arranged for Crossing Borders Music by AJ Isaacson-Zvidzwa! “Blind Tom” was born enslaved, barely survived his early years, and then became one of the most famous – and highest-earning – pianists and composers of his day.
Momenta Dance Company cultivates and presents repertory and contemporary dance works that strive to educate, innovate and amplify the artistry of students and professionals, inclusive of artists with disabilities. Momenta was founded by Stephanie Clemens, Larry Ippel and James Tenuta in 1983, and in 2003 expanded its repertory to include physically integrated works for dancers with and without disabilities.