SLMDances has had an extraordinary year.

From our 6-years-in-the-making world premiere of PURPLE: A Ritual In Nine Spells at Lincoln Center and a fun performance at the Apollo Theater, to a feature in the New York Times, a creative residency to codify curriculum for our ongoing work The Window Sex Project at the National Choreographic Center at the University of Akron, and continued community engagement programming with older adults, we have experienced a year in which our dreams and visions are manifesting in substantial ways.

And we have big plans for next year: a national (hopefully international) PURPLE tour! Our first stop is Dance Place in Washington, D.C. in April 2024. Tickets on sale now!

However, now that PURPLE-project grant monies have ceased, we need to raise some MAJOR funds from our extended networks in order to sustain our momentum: $100,000 - a good chunk of which we need to support spring production costs.

So, this fall we’re putting the FUN in fundraising!

Join us for a DIGITAL SILENT AUCTION where we auction off a variety of silly, fun, and intriguing things that require minimal effort on our part, for REALLY LARGE amounts of money. (For example, SLMDances Artistic Director Sydnie will learn and perform an excerpt of Beyonce’s Homecoming choreography for a starting bid of $15K.) We also are offering items at a variety of prices so ALL our community members can participate!

Between November 2 and November 16 bid on (or buy!):

FUN Challenges: SLMDances Creative Partners and Guest Artists showcase their passions, quirks, and humor in creative challenges.

PURPLE Archives: One-of-a-kind mementos from the world premiere of PURPLE: A Ritual in Nine Spells.

Words & Wisdom: Offerings of words & wisdom from the SLMDances Collective, from personalized acronyms to coaching on public speaking.

SLMDances Merch: You can bring SLMDances with you everywhere you go! Get your own stickers, t-shirts, and totebags.

Invest in SLMDances to keep us going strong! THANK YOU for being a part of our community!

About Sydnie L. Mosley Dances:

SLMDances is a New York City-based dance-theater collective that works in communities to organize for gender and racial justice through experiential dance performance.

SLMDances' works engage audiences in the artistic process; our dances provoke a visceral reaction to the physicality on stage and incite conversation toward community action. The works reflect real-life experiences central to our identities, and pulls focus to the stories of women and Black folks. The movement vocabulary fluidly integrates modern dance techniques and movement of the African Diaspora, while dancers frequently use their voice with spoken text and audible breath. Through dimensional compositions, specific, textured movement, humor and character development, choreographed works appeal to a sense of humanity.

PURPLE is a multi-project universe that illuminates the power of deep sisterhood for social change through storytelling and movement. This sisterhood is how we thrive: we invest in one another, we honor and celebrate each other's brilliance, and we hold ourselves accountable to experiencing radical joy.

Each project is its own galaxy with its own moving storytellers, but these galaxies are guided by a common set of stars. The works are: multigenerational, iterative, based in oral & embodied herstories, center sacred ritual(s), honor feedback loops, honor collective decision-making, and are inspired by the work & processes of our beloved ancestor Ntozake Shange.

SLMDances’ Beneficiary

For this campaign, all donations will go through SLMDances’ fiscal sponsor, Culture Push, Inc. (EIN #26-3250931). Culture Push is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization so donors who purchase items at this charity auction may claim a charitable contribution deduction for the excess of the purchase price paid for an item over its fair market value.

Printed photograph from PURPLE: A Ritual In Nine Spells