Tiffany “hanan” Madera moderates this conversation around the issues of identity, ethnicity, structures of inclusion and exclusion.
About this Event
International bellydance professionals Amar Garcia and Esmeralda Colabone speak of their touring and performance experiences and explore how their Latin American and Caribbean origins or aesthetics have influenced both their dancing and their global experiences. Tiffany “hanan” Madera moderates this conversation around the issues of identity, ethnicity, structures of inclusion and exclusion and the meaning of our dance form as a globalized art form.
Presented as part of Shift. Shimmy. Pivot. - an initiative of Hanan Arts, in partnership with Havana Habibi Festival.
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS
Amar Garcia was born in Havana, Cuba and began her Raks Sharqi and other MENAHT dance studies at the age of 13 in Miami, Florida. Her main teachers and mentors include: Tamalyn Dallal, Jihan Jamal, Maria Jamal, Elsa Bello, Antolino Alvarez, Yousry Sharif, Elena Garcia and Fathi Bilalgia. She has had the privilege to be an invited guest instructor and performer all over Europe, Asia, South and North America. She is co-founder of Bellyqueen Dance Theater and was principal dancer with Bellydance Superstars. Mrs. Garcia has been a company member and principal dancer for various Afro-Cuban, Jazz / Contemporary and Middle Eastern Dance Companies. Amar holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and this fall will begin her Master’s Degree in African and African Diaspora Studies at Florida International University.
With 20 years dedicated to Arabic Dance, Esmeralda Colabone is one of the biggest names in the Arabic Dance Scene today. Esmeralda was the youngest Brazilian dancer to join the cast of La Maison de L'Artiste from Lebanon back in 2002 and for 12 years, she danced in the best hotels in North Africa, Gulf and Middle East. This experience, together with her own studies on history, society and - of course - her personal choices, made her unique and today, she's a Master Teacher, Soloist and Choreographer in 32 countries and counting.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Tiffany Hanan Madera is an artist at the intersection of film, dance, contemporary art and social justice. Anchored in Caribbean aesthetics, Madera’s work is provocative and global, bridging movement and visual vocabularies from North Africa, the Caribbean and Americas to examine diasporic thought and bodies. Working with feminist and post colonial theories, her projects seek to reconcile gender and diasporic trauma. Through her films and projects, Madera creates transformative opportunities for healing and building community.
Based in Miami Beach, Madera directs Hanan Arts, an intersectional feminist arts non profit and produces festivals, social practice interdisciplinary projects, curates contemporary art exhibitions, performs and choreographs dance and directs and produces documentary films. As an educator, Madera serves as Adjunct faculty at Barry University. In collaboration with various non profits, Madera has taught dance and performance extensively in a women’s correctional facility, with adjudicated, homeless, marginalized and immigrant youth, adult survivors of child sexual abuse, rape and sexual assault, all using bellydance as her unique calling card.
Her award winning films and projects have been funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Ware Foundation, state and local government and others. Tiffany Hanan Madera holds a Masters Degree in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from Florida International University and a Master’s Degree in Performance Studies from New York University Tisch School of the Arts.