An Online Dance Event Will Celebrate the 155th Anniversary of Juneteenth

This Friday, June 19, the national commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States will be celebrated with an online event featuring dance performance and discussions exploring race in the United States.

Presented as part of the Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage's SummerStage Anywhere digital series, the event will begin at 12 p.m. ET via the SummerStage's Instagram with performances including Witness, a ballet that uses dance, film and music to offer historical context to racial issues in America. 

The main event happens at 7:00 p.m. ET with a panel discussion, Reflecting the Times, led by Hope Boykin of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Happening on  SummerStage's YouTube channel, this talk will be followed by a tribute performance of "Hanging Tree" featuring the Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet Dance Theatre, vocalist Marcelle Davies-Lashley, and poet Carl Hancock Rux. 

"As a Black woman in America, I am a direct beneficiary of the struggles and battles for justice and I stand on the shoulders of those who fought and continue to fight for my freedom," Danni Gee, Dance Curator and Music Programming Associate for SummerStage, is quoted in a statement. "I am honored to be able to celebrate this important anniversary of Juneteenth in our country's history on SummerStage Anywhere. I am proud to present this program even more so in light of current events and it is crucial to me that the communities we serve know that we stand with them."

This Juneteenth program was originally programmed as a show for the 2020 SummerStage in-person season schedule and made the transition online.