A Prayer for Transformation
Director, Choreographer, Writer, and Editor
Cindy Welik-Salgado @cindyweliksalgado
Featuring
Sam Assemany @samassemany
MJ Edwards @mjedwardsdance
Jennifer Florentino @jenniferflorentino
Shea Hancock @shea_hancock
Tiare Keeno @tiare.keeno
Kyla Lanae @kylalhull
Alessandra Marconi @ali_marco
Jenna Meilman @jennameilman
Jerimy Rivera @riverajerimy
Ida Saki
Jie-Hung Connie Shiau @shiaujiehungconnie
Alex Shulman @alexbshulman
Maleek Washington @maleek_washington
Director of Photography
Jacob Hiss @jacob.hiss
Music
Name: HEY-OH, WE WON'T BE SILENT
Artist: LoFi Plum
Drums and Co-Producer: Spyglasskick
Songwriter and Producer: Michael Youd
Name: Joy In Resistance
Artist: Resistance Revival Chorus and Abena Koomson-Davis
Composer/Lyrics/Producer: Abena Koomson-Davis
Composer and Producer: Tiffany Gouché
Co-producer and Voice Actor
Mauricio Tafur Salgado
Prayer Editors
Elaine Enns and Ched Myers
Recording Engineer and Mixer
Voltaire Wade-Greene @tisvoltaire
Credits Sequence by
Allison Leigh Thomas @all_is_on_fire
Made possible through a Gibney Dance residency
thanks to the generous support of Gina Gibney @gibneydance
Mural by Andre Trenier @andrethepainter
through Action Lab NY, Make the Road NY, and Hands Off NYC @handsoffnyc
Beyond grateful for this powerful, heart-centered team of artists!
#movementforthemovement #prayforiceagents #manifesttransformation #nooneisillegalonstolenland #ourgodisundocumented
#contemporarydance #dancefilm #danceforcamera #choreography #dancevideo #movement #prayer #belief #protest
Join me in wishing this fabulous human @stevedavis1967 a happy birthday!! Want to tell him in person? Check out the We See All-Stars LIVE!!!
THURSDAY 4/16 at Dizzy's (NYC)
FRIDAY 4/17 at Scullers (BOSTON) and
SATURDAY 4/18-4/19 at Blues Alley (DC) with yours truly!
@jazzdotorg@scullersjazz@bluesalleydc
To get everyone ready for Saturday’s #nokingsday👑🚫 march, we have a whole week of resistance training. Tomorrow, we start with Abena Koomson-Davis and Heather Mae, talking about the power of singing, particularly in @resistancerevivalchorus and @singingresistancenashville , where they participate.
We illustrate our points with songs from the Staple Singers, Mahalia Jackson, @sweethoneyrocks73 , @guru.jazzmatazz , @gracebaldridge , @sambettens , @angelhaze , and more.
Subscribe to catch the episode tomorrow or on-demand.
I grew up with abundant love in a low-income housing complex in Hartford,CT. I learned the best of life’s lessons from a community of Black leaders who poured love, faith, joy and pride into us. We began every morning saying the pledge of allegiance and singing the Black National Anthem. My teachers had us call and respond: I am! (I AM!) Somebody! (SOMEBODY!) over and over and louder and louder so we could feel each other's voices ringing in our throats. Pride was a vibration that synced up with our heartbeats as our little bodies hollered those words. I was somebody's precious child, student, sister, dream and hope for the future. Rev. Jesse Jackson's words did their work. And in the course of doing my work, I had the honor to meet him and speak with him and be reminded of how hard it is to fight for justice, to build coalition, how messy, and how necessary. In 2013, through my work with FELA on Broadway, I was invited to sing at events for PUSH and attend service at Trinity Church in Chicago where I spoke about the power of music in resistance. Rev. Jackson, I was humbled by the weight of your experience and your kind words. I honor your words of faith and the people you inspired who cared for me. I am grateful for your encouragement to me to KEEP HOPE ALIVE.
I WILL.
-AKD
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEB!!! Over 40 years of singing, dancing, writing, laughing, dreaming, striving, thriving, learning and growing together. You are my first artistic collaborator, from dollhouses to talent shows to summer theater to our latest exploration in the Garden you planted. I have you to thank for the kind of inspiration that springs from mutual adoration, understanding and love. THANK YOU BESTIE!! @scapegoatgarden May this year bring abundant joy, strength, love, play, health, wealth and rest.
Yesterday at @thedjangonyc was pure joy. A gathering of friends on the bandstand and in the house. Music transforms the discord and brokenness of the world into a connection with each other. All our hearts beating at the same tempo, the electricity of listening to one another. The smiles, the mmhmms. This is the harmony that lifts us up.
Season's Greetings to all
xoxo
Abena & Stevie-D
📷@tolan55555
Join Steve & Abena on FRIDAY NOV. 28 for a joyous celebration at @sidedoorjazz 🚪🎶 We'll be joined by our dear friends (and phenomenal rhythm section!) #rickgermanson @dwonszyk@jonathanb_live
Head to sidedoorjazz.com for tickets!
Join us on Wednesday at 7pm for Jazz at La Zingara. 🎶🎼💖
Steve Davis and Abena Koomson-Davis Quintet featuring Tony Davis, Matt Dwonszyk & Joe Strasser!! Come for an evening of joy, food, and beautiful music.
Venue: @lazingararestaurant
8 PT Barnum Square | Bethel, CT 06801
Vocals: @abenakd
Trombone: @stevedavis1967
Guitar: @tonydavismusic
Bass: @dwonszyk
Drums: @strassdrums
Link in bio for tickets!
It doesn’t matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are indeed part of the problem. - Coretta Scott King
VOTE!!!!!
TUESDAY! JOIN ME LIVE on SOUNDS OF THE DIASPORA for a conversation with @dionparson_thedrummer as I reflect on JOY, WISDOM and COMMUNITY BUILDING POWER in MUSIC.
Follow the link in bio💖🎶
