La MaMa announces the lineup for the 16th edition of La MaMa Moves! Returning for its annual spring season for two weeks in May, the 2021 festival will feature works by Hadar Ahuvia and Tatyana Tenenbaum, J. Bouey, Jasmine Hearn, Tiffany Mills, Ricarrdo Valentine, and Sugar Vendil. Performances will be streamed live from La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre and Downstairs Theatre, with additional performances outdoors at Downtown Art for limited, in-person audiences. The festival will also include a digital showcase featuring the work of several international artists. La MaMa Moves! will take place Thursday through Sunday, May 13–16, and Tuesday through Sunday, May 18–23. Performance times vary. Tickets are pay-what-you-can starting at $5 (on sale soon). For tickets and schedule, visit: www.lamama.org.

This season’s programming continues La MaMa’s commitment to presenting diverse performance styles and approaches that challenge conventions and audiences’ perceptions of dance. Utilizing movement, storytelling, song and sound, the works in this year’s festival address the artists’ engagement with the current social and political moment, as well as honor diasporic histories and legacies, ancestral inspirations, and inter-generational dialogue.

“Performing artists have always proven to be resilient and resourceful even during the most challenging times. Since the pandemic began last March, dance practitioners have been both taking time to reflect and going ahead in doing the creative work they are always doing,” comments La MaMa Moves! curator Nicky Paraiso. “This past year has certainly been painful and frustrating, both mentally exhausting and physically debilitating. Dance artists have, however, continued to make work, and I believe that the artists participating in this season’s La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival are making work that is essential and true to this pivotal moment in time.”