Founding Director Emerita of Dance Place Carla Perlo reflects on her life and leading Dance Place, the organizational host of DanceAfrica, DC. Perlo speaks about her professional trajectory and building one of the nation’s leading dance organizations with focus on how DanceAfrica, DC fits into the larger scope of Dance Place’s 40-year history as a dance presenter, school, and community arts center in Ward 5’s Brookland/Edgewood neighborhood. Perlo also speaks on her legacy in the dance community and the future of dance post COVID-19., Carla Perlo was born in Washington, D.C. in 1951. Perlo has made a lifetime commitment to the fields of dance, youth education and community revitalization through the arts. She is co-founder Dance Place in Washington, D.C. and for thirty-six years served as its visionary Founding Director. With support from the Board of Directors, Dance Place became the second independent organization in the United States to own and operate a facility for the training and presentation of dance. In August 2017, Perlo transitioned to Director Emerita, in which role she remains on Dance Place’s teaching faculty, youth program staff and serves as a consultant. In 2013, Ms. Perlo was honored to receive the DC Mayor’s Arts Award for “Excellence in Service to the Arts.” Other awards include Washingtonian Magazine’s Washingtonian of the Year (1997), The Pola Nirenska Lifetime Achievement Award (2017), and the Ernie Award for Outstanding Service to the Field of Dance (Dance/USA, 2018).
Director Emerita of Dance Place Deborah Riley reflects on her life and leading Dance Place, the organizing host of DanceAfrica, DC. Riley talks about her career as a professional choreographer, performer, and teacher and how her love for dance fuels all she does. Riley describes the magic of DanceAfrica, DC and its importance to the community. Riley also discusses her legacy and what she hopes to see continue in the dance field post COVID-19 as Dance Place celebrates its 40-year history as a dance presenter and school for dance in Ward 5’s Brookland/Edgewood neighborhood., Born in 1950 in East Cleveland, Ohio, Deborah Riley is a life-long dance artist and more recent practitioner of Laban Movement Analysis, the basis for teaching movement arts to people of all ages and abilities. As a touring artist and educator, she has performed throughout Europe and the US as well as choreographing over 40 original works for her company, Deborah Riley Dance Projects. She was an artist-in-residence at Dance Place from 1988-2017 and retired as Co-Director in 2017. In addition to many prestigious awards and accolades, she was honored in 2016 with the Pola Nirenska Award for Lifetime Achievement in Dance.
Denise Rollins, current Chair of the Board of Directors at Dance Place, reflects on her life and relationship to the DC African dance community. Rollins speaks about her professional trajectory that began in public policy, which led her to spend a number of years working for the African American Institute and eventually USAID. Rollins recalls the early years of Dance Place and DanceAfrica, DC and how each remains important to her life today as Dance Place celebrates its 40-year anniversary as a dance presenter and school for dance in Ward 5’s Brookland/Edgewood neighborhood., Denise Rollins was born in Detroit in 1952. Rollins is the current Chair of Board of Directors at Dance Place. She is a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development. She served for 27 years, 23 years overseas in Jamaica, Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa and Bangladesh. In Washington, Rollins served as Acting Assistant Administrator for Asia overseeing USAID economic development programs in 23 countries. Following her retirement in the foreign service in 2014, she became Senior Coordinator for the Africa Ebola Unit at USAID overseeing the Agency's response to the epidemic. Rollins currently volunteers with performing arts organizations such as Dance Place and Washington Performing Arts.
Norberto Borja describes the early years when his family migrated from Colombia and lived on Ontario Road in Adams Morgan. Borja describes the neighborhood in the 1970’s: full of Latino families who knew each other. He describes his first job working at the SED Center, located next to his house. Borja first got involved in the D C Latino Festival in the early years when it was held on Colombia Rd. He describes how his young Colombian group of drummers was asked to perform in the Festival. By 1989 Borja had moved to Maryland, and when the D.C. Latino Festival moved to the Mall in 198 9, many Colombians wanted to participate now that the Festival Parade was on Constitution Ave. Tiko helped organize a new folkloric group, Colombianos Unidos . Borja describes how he led this group of 40 dancers, taught them Colombian folkloric dances, and organized the big Colombian float, La Chiva, at the 1990 Festival Parade of Nations. Borja describes his experiences working with other Latin American countries, his success in taking his folkloric group all the way to the Expo Sevilla in Spain. Borja describes how the Colombian participation in the 1990 Festival also led to his participation in the national Cherry Blossoms Festival. Borja describes the importance of the elected Festival leadership in the 1989 - 1990 period, how their vision of “having their Latino community known by all of the nation” was prescient. He believes that the commitment to work with the community and for the community made a big difference in the success of the 1989 - 1990 Festivals. But he describes how other D.C. Latinos did not carry on that tradition and Latino festivals today are not the same as back in 1990 . Borja reflects on how unique Latino Festivals were back then because they changed the tone of festivals: home - cooked food from all over Latin America and the Caribbean was sold at those Festivals. Borja believes that that history led to the growth of larger festivals throughout the region. Borja describes how he helped organize a group to lead another Latino Festival, Parade of the Americas, in 1993. Borja believes that his experience with Colombianos Unidos allowed him to get to know many new people, learn how to negotiate with D.C. Government authorities, and how the Latino Festival and all the preparations helped Colombian immigrants recover their heritage and culture., Born in 1955 in Baranquilla, Colombia, Tiko Borja migrated with his family to Washington D.C. in May 1970. When he was a child, Tiko was left blind after an accident. Tiko’s Mother brought him to the United States hoping that doctors could operate and restore his sight. But doctors failed to restore his sight. Tiko’s family lived in the Adams Morgan neighborhood surrounded by other Latino immigrant families. He went to school in D.C. and graduated from Western High School. He studied at American University. Tiko married and moved to Damascus, Maryland with his three children. In 1989 he founded the Colombian national folkloric group, Colombianos Unidos. From 1989-1996, Tiko led the group of 40 young dancers, did fundraising for the group, and hired a dance coordinator. They represented Colombia with folkloric dances and a float in the 1990 Fiesta D.C. Parade of Nations in July. In 1993 Tiko helped organize and lead the “Festival of Las Americas”, the second Latino Festival that year. Celebrating Hispanic Heritage month in September 1993, Tiko worked with a volunteer committee to hold the Parade on Constitution Ave. Tiko’s Colombianos Unidos dance group also paraded in the Cherry Blossoms Festival. In 1992 Tiko took Colombianos Unidos to perform in the Expo in Sevilla, Spain. Since 1979 Tiko has been the Owner/Manager of a convenience store located at the National Institutes of Health. When the Covid-19 Pandemic hit in 2020, the government offices shut down,and as a result Tiko’s store was closed.
Medea Benjamin and Kevin Danaher smile and dance at a D. C. Emancipation Day concert at Freedom Plaza., Medea Benjamin is the found of CODEPINK. and co-founder of Global Exchange with her husband Kevin Danaher.
KK and a fan smile as they hold hands and dance. Frank 'Scooby' Sirius: The Godson of Go-Go is singing in the background. Chuck Brown Band is performing at the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club., Takesa Donelson is known professionally as KK and is Chuck Brown's daughter. Frank Marshall is known professionally as Frank 'Scooby' Sirius.
Buggs holds the microphone out towards a fan during a performance with Maiesha and the Hip Huggers at La Fontaine Bleue. Fans can be seen dancing., Steven Herrion is known professionally as Buggs.
Three fans dance at the front of the stage during a concert at La Fontaine Bleue. Other fans are visible., The band playing is Likely Maiesha and the Hip Huggers.
