curator
Ishmael Houston-Jones was the curator for the Parallels series in 1982, Platform 2012 Parallels and co-curator for Platform 2016: Lost and Found and is currently the curator for DraftWork works-in-progress series, all at Danspace project.
Poster designed by Fred Holland
Parallels 1982
“I chose the name Parallels for the series because while all the choreographers participating are Black and in some ways relate to the rich tradition of Afro‐American dance, each has chosen a form outside of that tradition and even outside the tradition of mainstream modern dance… this new generation of Black artists—who exist in the parallel worlds of Black America and of new dance—is producing work that is richly diverse.”
— IH-J
Souleymane Badolo and Nora Chipaumire
Photo by Ian Douglas
Platform 2012: Parallels
“In 2012, it had been thirty years since Blondell Cummings, Fred Holland, Rrata Christine Jones, Ralph Lemon, Bebe Miller, Harry Sheppard, Gus Solomons jr. and I performed on the first Parallels series at Danspace Project… My questions then were: "Is there such a thing as Black Dance in America? Is there “mainstream” Black Dance? And if it did exist, who was pushing the boundaries of that mainstream? Platform 2012: Parallels was my attempt to revisit and answer those questions.”
— IH-J curator’s statement
Brother(hood) Dance!
Photo by Jaime Dzandu
Platform 2016: Lost and Found, Dance, New York, HIV/AIDS, then and now
“We were baffled. We were angry. We were terrified. We were wary of sharing a glass of water. But we also learned how to nurture and care for the sick and the dying. We made art, those of us who were dying and those of us who survived. Surviving love and death. …But we also rallied; we shouted; we marched in the streets.”
— IH-J curator’s statement
Danspace Project's Platform 2016: Lost & Found, curated by Ishmael Houston-Jones and Will Rawls
Danspace Project at St.Mark’s Church in the Bowery.
Photo: Anya Hitzenberger
DraftWork
Curated by Ishmael Houston-Jones, the DraftWork series hosts informal Saturday afternoon performances that offer choreographers an opportunity to show their work in various stages of development. Performances are followed by discussions and informal receptions, allowing for conversation and exchange between artists and audiences. Read more
Other curations include:
Festival of New Swiss Dance as part of New Europe 1999, The Swiss Institute, New York in collaboration with Yvonne Meier
Guest curator for Mad Alex Presents reading series, New York, 1998
Dive In Festival of Dance Improvisation, Danspace Project, New York, 1993-95