MODArts Dance Collective presents Move to Change

MODArts Dance Collective (MADC) presents Move to Change - a festival which uses dance as a form of social justice and arts activism through the lens of BIPOC choreographers and cinematographers. The goal of Move to Change is to create cultural and gender affirming spaces for artists of color to educate, empower, & illuminate issues that reflect their histories and cultures through their unique and rich movement aesthetics. This hybrid festival consists of live performance in an evening concert and dance films streamed online. This year’s theme is 'Ujima', the Swahili word for Collective Work and Responsibility. The dance pieces/dance films will highlight the Kwanzaa meaning of Ujima: to build and maintain our community together.

The choreographers and collaborators who will share their work in the Friday, October 9th live evening concert are Sloka Iyengar; Aniky Salima; Tiffany Rea-Fisher/EMERGE 125; Miho Ryu; Kayla Spalding; Katherin Sibel; Ben See-Tho; and Leah Tubbs/MODArts Dance Collective.

The choreographers and collaborators who will share their work in the Saturday, October 10th live evening concert are Jamie Drye and Francesca Marinaro/Drye/Marinaro Dance Company (DMDC); Chisato Fujii; Tara George; Stephen Hill/The ChoreoJoey Project; Gayathri Pratha; Leah Schinsing; Leah Tubbs/MODArts Dance Collective; and Rathi Varma.

The dance filmmakers who will share their dance film/documentary streamed online from October 5-25, 2026 are Sádé Budhlall; Anabella Lenzu; Zazel O'Garra; Terry Slaughter; Quentin Sledge; and Tamara Williams.

Move to Change is made possible with funding from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Center (LMCC) Creative Engagement Grant and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ) Arts Engagement Grant.

Speyer Hall @ University Settlement is ADA accessible with an elevator + wheelchair accessibility for seating.