Derrick’s Resources

Shown Above: Image of Derrick León Washington & Misha Morales rehearsing for demonstration and documentary film sponsored by the National Jazz Museum.

-Created, curated, directed, or significant contributions by Mr. Washington. Located in one place for easy reference and citation-

Exhibitions

Urban Stomp: Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor, Museum of the City of New York (April 2025–February 2026): Curator of the first-of-its-kind exhibition exploring over 300 years of social dance in New York City, from the ballrooms and bars of the 19th century to today’s parks, living rooms, and clubs. The exhibition highlights how the city’s dance cultures, and the spaces they animate, foster collective joy, resistance, and new social possibilities that reverberate far beyond the dance floor. View the exhibit trailer, 8-minute documentary, or full documentary.

New York at Its Core, Museum of the City of New York (2016–Ongoing): New York at Its Core captures the human energy that drove New York to become a city like no other, featuring the city’s “big personalities,” including Alexander Hamilton, Walt Whitman, Emma Goldman, JP Morgan, Fiorello La Guardia, Jane Jacobs, and Jay Z. Through nearly 450 historic objects and images, many from the Museum’s collection, alongside contemporary video, photography, and interactive digital experiences, the exhibition invites visitors to explore the city’s past and imagine its future. Recipient of the Excellence in Exhibition Award from the American Alliance of Museums.

Will to Adorn, Smithsonian Center of Folklife and Cultural Heritage (April 2013–August 2013): Presented at the 47th Annual Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC. A multi-year exhibition and research project examining the diversity of African American culture through the lens of music, clothing, and fashion.

Rhythm & Power: Salsa in New York, Museum of the City of New York (June 13, 2017–November 26, 2017): The story of New York salsa, an up-tempo performance of percussive Latin music and Afro-Caribbean dance, is one of cultural fusion, artistry, and strategic growth. The exhibition explores how immigrant and migrant communities, particularly from Cuba and Puerto Rico, shaped salsa from a local movement in streets and clubs into a global phenomenon. It also examines the role of record companies, distribution networks, and activism in sustaining the form. View exhibit trailer (here).

The exhibition and its program series, among the most extensive developed for a museum exhibition, included staff leadership workshops, high school dance history courses, oral history projects with leading practitioners, professional development with Broadway artists, interactive workshops, concerts, painting workshops, walking tours, film screenings, SummerStage performances, an academic conference, a publication, and a week-long Department of Education professional development institute.

The project received extensive national and international media coverage, including The New York Times, BBC, Huffington Post, New York Post, Red Bull Music Academy, NBC Channel 4, Time Out New York, and multiple Latin American outlets.

Activist New York, Museum of the City of New York (2016–Ongoing): The exhibition explores the history of social activism in New York City from the 17th century to the present. Through artifacts, photography, audio-visual media, and interactive elements, it examines movements across civil rights, economic justice, gender equality, environmental advocacy, and more. Director and storyboard writer for the exhibition’s film components.

Human Minority Rights: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Headquarters (December 2019): Presented at the Twelfth Session of the Forum on Minority Issues at United Nations Human Rights Headquarters in Geneva.

Various Exhibits and Programs, El Fogon Center of the Arts (March 2011–January 2013): Produced, managed, and curated community exhibitions, live music concerts, artist showcases, book events, music workshops, spoken word programs, dance classes, and educational collaborations with New York City institutions. These initiatives built relationships with Garifuna, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Colombian, and African American communities. Received media coverage from Channel 12 News Bronx, Bronx Free Press, Mott Haven Herald, and Bronx 360.

Harlem Swing: The Birth of a Movement, Museum of the City of New York (February 2016): A collaboration between curatorial and education departments featuring a pop-up exhibition with rare artifacts and ephemera from the early to mid-20th century, along with symposia, storytelling, interactive installations, food programming, dance workshops, and live music.

Film

Urban Stomp: Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor — Documentary Film: An archival film documenting the exhibition’s objects, curatorial vision, and spatial layout, offering a close look at how over 300 objects, installations, and interactive environments were researched, assembled, and brought into dialogue. The film captures the exhibition as both a physical and conceptual experience, tracing how objects, movement, sound, and design work together to construct an immersive, participatory narrative of social dance history. View the exhibit trailer, 8-minute documentary, or full documentary.

Nueva York: A Musical History of Latin New York - Feature-length documentary broadcast on the ARTE television network. It broadcast in over 22 nations in Europe and European territories. It received a positive review in one of France’s most influential and widely circulated newspapers, Le Monde (Film inspired by exhibition curated, Expert Speaker & Consultant).

Rhythm & Power: Salsa in New York - Exhibition and program teaser video of Rhythm & Power: Salsa in New York. The exhibition illuminates how the diversity of New York City gave rise to salsa, an up-tempo combination of percussive Latin music and poly-rhythmic, Afro-Caribbean infused dance. The exhibition brings the history of salsa in New York to life through a collection of nearly 100 objects-from Tito Puente's musical instruments to garments worn by Celia Cruz (Interviewed, Co-Directed & Exhibition Curator). Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YXwduMMa-Q

Dreams & Defiance: Centering Cultural Expressions of People of African Descent - Film celebrating the United Nations International Day of People of African Descent. The film was featured prominently on United Nations and United Nations agencies’ media platforms (Host, Project Manager, Producer, Script Writer & Curator). Link: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1e/k1es8i4huf

I Still Believe in Our City - Featuring Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya with commentary from Carmelyn P. Malalis and Derrick L. Washington, PhD. Produced by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in partnership with the NYC Commission on Human Rights (Storyboard, Assistant Director, Interviewer, & UN Intervention). Link: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1m/k1m018tei6

Todavía creo en Nueva York - (I Still Believe in Our City with Spanish language subtitles): Link: https://youtu.be/6Uw5KKmNWXA

Apollo Theater Live Wire: From the Archives - Feature-length film highlights historical spaces as archives, never-before-seen objects/ephemera from the Apollo’s archives, various performance styles as an archives, and Harlem as an evolving neighborhood as a living archive (Project Manager, Curator, Script Writer, Lead Researcher). Link: https://apollotheater.brandlive.com/livewire-april2022/en

Urban Stomp: From Swing to Mambo - Documentary short film sharing the importance of the arts and community in New York City. Created with the initial support from the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, Abyssinian Baptist Church, Bronx Music Heritage Center, and National Jazz Museum in Harlem (Directed, Interviewer, Storyboard, Producer & Curator). Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q1V0D0FOtc

A Call for a New Social Contract: Centering Indigenous Cultural Expressions - Film in honor of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, a collaboration between Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Nations Headquarters Visitor Services. The film centers Indigenous communities, their artistic practices, and the ways they tell and shape their own narratives across regions. The film features diverse Indigenous communities and nations from around the world, highlighting cultural expression and contemporary realities. The film was featured prominently on United Nations and United Nations agencies’ media platforms (Co-Host, Project Manager, Producer & Co-Script Writer). Link: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k10/k10nit7qus?fbclid=IwAR2cSoVHUU-O_CJLHaHW_UfiZww4bX6Wm7dWz1lWVREJBmP

#ActivistNY: Tony's Story - Exhibition case study video for Activist New York exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, December 2016 (Co-Director, Script Supervisor & Interviewer). Link: https://youtu.be/DX3FhDHhAkQ

#ActivistNY: Angy's Story - Exhibition case study video for Activist New York exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, December 2016 (Co-Director, Script Supervisor & Interviewer). Link: https://youtu.be/l674vwxI0DA

#ActivistNY: Dante's Story - Exhibition case study video for Activist New York exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, December 2016 (Co-Director, Script Supervisor, & Interviewer). Link: https://youtu.be/IEHWvcUnqkQ

#ActivistNY`: Sasha's Story - Exhibition case study video for Activist New York exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, December 2016 (Co-Director, Script Supervisor & Interviewer). Link: https://youtu.be/0lQ4ouR__WI

Dreams & Defiance: Latin Dance Vs. The World - Instructional film about Latin dances and cultures in collaboration with the National Jazz Museum (Director & Curator). Link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=796357554567165

1969 Moon Landing - Screened at Dance on Film Festival at Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts, New York, NY. Directed by Johanna Witherby (Choreographed & Performed).

Publications

o Book: Inside Urban Stomp: A Curator's Guide to Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor, Derrick León Washington (Author), Olha Aleksandrova (Illustrator)

o Book: Rhythm & Power: Performing Salsa in Puerto Rican and Latino Communities, co-edited by Derrick León Washington, Centro Publications, 2017.

o Article: Dance Culture in NYC, Museum of the City of New York, March 7, 2017.

o Interviewed for article related to Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts evening-length Urban Stomp performance,

*New York City: Dancer's Delight, Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts’ The Score, June 28, 2019.

o Museum Blog Post: How to Curate an Interactive History Exhibition in 11 Easy Steps, Museum of the City of New York, August 28, 2017.

o Article: “Embodied Representation: Racial and Gender Identity in Hip-hop Choreography.” Text, Practice and Performance VIII, 79-94, 2009.

o Dissertation: The Whole World is a Rumba Nueva: The Creation of Transnational Communities through Performance and Social Media in New York City and Havana, 2014.

o Forthcoming Article: Dreams & Defiance: A Unified Curatorial Practice of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage

Salsa, Mambo & Music/Dances of the Americas

Urban Stomp: Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor, Museum of the City of New York (April 2025–February 2026): Curator of a first-of-its-kind exhibition exploring over 300 years of social dance in New York City, from the ballrooms and bars of the 19th century to today’s parks, living rooms, and clubs. The exhibition highlights how the city’s dance cultures, and the spaces they animate, foster collective joy, resistance, and new social possibilities that reverberate far beyond the dance floor.

Urban Stomp: From Swing to Mambo - Documentary short film sharing the importance of the arts and community in New York City. Created with the initial support from the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, Abyssinian Baptist Church, Center for Traditional Music and Dance, Bronx Music Heritage Center, and National Jazz Museum in Harlem (Directed, Interviewer, Storyboard, Producer & Curator). Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q1V0D0FOtc

Rhythm & Power: Salsa in New York - Exhibition and program teaser video of Rhythm & Power: Salsa in New York. The exhibition, which also offered the most extensive array of programming of any museum exhibition, illuminated how the diversity of New York City gave rise to salsa, an up-tempo combination of percussive Latin music and poly-rhythmic, Afro-Caribbean infused dance. The exhibition brought the history of salsa in New York to life through a collection of nearly 100 objects-from Tito Puente's musical instruments to garments worn by Celia Cruz (Interviewed, Co-Directed & Exhibition Curator). Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YXwduMMa-Q

Salsa: Neuerfindung karibischer Identitäten (Salsa: Reinventing Caribbean Identities) - Austrian national radio station story about salsa as an artistic socio-cultural movement with Mr. Washington taking listeners on a journey of some of the most iconic locations related to is artistic and social history in New York City. On Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). This is on one of the four national radio stations of Austria. Link: Salsa: Neuerfindung karibischer Identitäten | DI | 31 01 2023 | 9:45 - oe1.ORF.at

¡LoiSALSA! - The first “open mic” series dedicated to dance and history at the Nuyorican Poets Café (established in 1973) (Co-Host, Director & Curator).

¡Urban Stomp! The Artistic and Cultural Connections between Swing, Mambo and Salsa- An an evening-length, research presentation with live music and dance, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; New York, NY ( Curator, Speaker, Dancer). Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/elinor-bunin-munroe-film-center/urban-stomp-swing-mambo-salsa/660740841044829

Rhythm & Power: Dance, Immigration, and Community Action in History - Curriculum illuminates multiple engagement strategies and lessons that engage students through music, dance, cultural studies, and history. Suitable for educators of all grades – and requiring no prior dance experience – this course is inclusive of information gathered by award-winning exhibitions and programs of the Museum of the City of New York (Curriculum Writer).

Dreams & Defiance: Centering Cultural Expressions of People of African Descent - Film celebrating the United Nations International Day of People of African Descent. The film was featured prominently on United Nations and United Nations agencies’ media platforms (Host, Project Manager, Producer, Script Writer & Curator). Link: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1e/k1es8i4huf

Dreams & Defiance: A Salsa Unit Plan - A 92nd Street Y Dance Education Laboratory learning resource that included anthropologically based exercises covering Cuban rumba, lindy hop, jazz dances, Cuban casino, contemporary dance, salsa caleña, and New York “On2” salsa. The 92nd Street Y is a historic institution founded in 1874, the 92nd Street Y has hosted artists/scholars such as Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Yo-Yo Ma, Truman Capote, Maya Angelou, Octavio Paz, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Curriculum Writer).

Dancing Classrooms at the Abyssinian Baptist Church - Urban Stomp: From Swing to Mambo segment on performance (Director & Curator). Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OushCpL_fx4&feature=youtu.be

What Are The Roots of Salsa? - New York Public Library Main Branch; New York, NY (Curator & Presenter).

Day of Dreams Defiance and Dance! - The New York University Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) and the New York International Salsa Congress, present a Day of Dreams Defiance and Dance! This full-day event curated by Dr. Derrick Leon Washington, honors the history of New York Salsa featuring a walking tour of the Lower East Side, workshops and panel discussions and dance. The title of this recorded panel discussion is, "What’s the Right Way to Dance Salsa?”Link: https://www.facebook.com/CLACS.NYU/videos/232339090765737

Dreams & Defiance: A World Re-Imagined Through Social Music and Dance Symposium - This first conference in this series explores the circular flows of music and social dance traditions in the Caribbean as a way of broadly exploring notions of nation, citizenship and belonging. Panelists investigated New York City salsa, Dominican merengue, Dominican bachata, and Cuban rumba. While there are a plethora of social dances performed throughout the Caribbean, these social dance and music styles have found global popularity in clubs, festivals, dance classes as well as the more intimate spaces they were created. Along with the social mobility afforded to some practitioners, economic possibilities figure largely in the ways they are performed in the present (Curator & Moderator).

A Day of Dreams, Defiance, and Dance program - At New York University and in collaboration with the New York International Salsa Congress, the day-long program included: A behind-the-scenes walking tour of the history of Salsa in the Lower East Side, visits to some of the venues featured in “Our Latin Thing” (the documentary that helped make the Fania All-Stars a global phenomenon), a workshop on the beauty of the clave with Multi-Grammy Award-nominated musician/bandleader, Bobby Sanabria, an interactive panel discussion on ways to dance salsa with style, and an after-work celebration in the heart of New York University (Curator). Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/353139888543319

Sabor & Ritmo: International Family Day of Dance - At the Museum of the City of New York, A day of interactive learning by spotlighting dance cultures that included: salsa with Balmir Latin Dance Studio, bomba with Milteri Tucker of Bombazo Dance Company, kizomba with Annie Louis of B-More Kizomba and DJ Elmano, children’s creative movement/dance, and multilingual storytime (Curator & Dance Instructor). Link: https://www.mcny.org/event/sabor-ritmo-international-family-day-dance

Sketch & Sip: Salsa in New York- Museum guests explored the dance costumes, musical instruments, maps, record covers, and photographs featured in the exhibition Rhythm & Power: Salsa in New York and learned how to add action and motion to drawings. A lesson by The National Arts Club instructor/artist Simon Levenson, followed by independent sketching time in the gallery, allowed guests to see how movement and music can affect visual art (Curator). Link: https://www.mcny.org/event/sketch-sip-salsa-new-york

Art & Human Rights

Todavía creo en Nueva York - (I Still Believe in Our City with Spanish language subtitles): Link: https://youtu.be/6Uw5KKmNWXA

A Call for a New Social Contract: Centering Indigenous Cultural Expressions - Film about the celebration of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, collaboration between UN Human Rights and UN Visitor Services. The film was featured prominently on United Nations and United Nations agencies’ media platforms (Co-Host, Project Manager, Producer, & Co-Script Writer). Link: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k10/k10nit7qus?fbclid=IwAR2cSoVHUU-O_CJLHaHW_UfiZww4bX6Wm7dWz1lWVREJBmP

Film Trailer: A Call for a New Social Contract: Centering Indigenous Cultural Expressions - Link to trailer (click here) and link to full film (click here).

Immigrants. Dance. Arts. Conference: Advancing the Rights of Immigrants - Centering discussions about the advancement of immigrant rights through dance - moderated by dance anthropologist and arts activist, Derrick Leon Washington, joined by Pascal Rioult, artistic director and choreographer of RIOULT (rē-you) Dance, and Potri Ranka Manis Queano Nur, Founder, Artistic Director, and Tradition-Bearer of Kinding Sindaw (Moderator). Link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=604319386693439

United Nations Chamber Music Society: Virtual Concert in Celebration of Human Rights Day -Expert video intervention for the official UN Human Rights Day concert that featured, Ms. Brands Kehris, Assistant-Secretary General for Human Rights and Head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in New York, Mr. Ndaba Mandela, human rights activist, Global Ambassador of UNAIDS, and grandson of the late South African president, Nelson Mandela, and Mr. Derrick L. Washington, cultural anthropologist and United Nations Human Rights (Expert Intervention). Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrIMxpOw1ZM

Human Rights, Art, and Protest - The first in the series, this UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) and Freemuse series examines inspiring examples and narratives of resilience related to the COVID-19 pandemic and tangible/intangible cultural heritage role in promoting human rights. The webinar is further meant to increase understanding on artistic expression as a mode of protest and an act to stand-up for human rights. The webinar included internationally exhibiting, multi-disciplinary artists such as Chelsea Hollow (U.S.A.), Jose “Dr. Drum” Ortiz (Puerto Rico/U.S.A.), Leah Tubbs (U.S.A.), and Victoria Rios (U.S.A.) (Co-Moderator, Artist Procurement, Script & Concept). Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPupQoilpG4&t=1s

Speaking Truth to Power - This webinar is the second in the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) and Freemuse series that brings together artists from religious or belief communities to present artwork on the freedom of artistic expression. This webinar aims at shifting the discussion among and between communities and individuals, including in circumstances where artists may be threatened by anti-blasphemy or anti-apostasy laws, as well as by other forces limiting civic space. It aims to deepen UN Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN system’s engagement with art and artists as a powerful player in discourse and action on human rights. The webinar included internationally exhibiting, multi-disciplinary artists such as Órion Lalli (Brazil) Yuliya Lanina (Russia/U.S.A.), Mazen Khaddaj (Lebanon/Germany), and Rita Dewan (Bangladesh) (Co-Moderator, Artist Procurement, Script & Concept). Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyXHNnFfVSo&t=1s

United Nations News Podcast: Durban +20 - Forging a Creative Path in Defense of Human Rights - On the UN flagship podcast series, Dr. Washington speaks informally about arts and curatorial practice in defense of human rights locally, nationally, and internationally (Interviewee). Link: https://news.un.org/en/audio/2021/12/1107032

Special Report: I Still Believe In New York-Using Art To Resolve Hatred Against Asians - Article and podcast about the short film, I Still Believe in Our City. Article written in Chinese (Provided concept & UN intervention). Link: https://news.un.org/zh/story/2021/09/1089462

An Illustration of Resilience and Hope: In the Face of Anti-Asian Hate - Article about the short film, I Still Believe in Our City (Provided concept & UN intervention). Link: https://news.un.org/zh/story/2021/09/1089462

Youth & Human Rights

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) YOUTH FORUM 2021 – Commemorating its 10th Anniversary - Final plenary, “Leaving No Youth Behind: Addressing the Long-Term Consequences of COVID-19 for Vulnerable Youth Groups”, with youth human rights defenders from Syria, Australia, Bangladesh, Guatemala, and Tunisia. Sponsored by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights), Office of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth (OSGEY), United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) - Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and United Nations Women (Moderator, Curator & Panelist Coach). Link: Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25HLFk701-Y

Jazz Music, Swing & Jazz Dances

Urban Stomp: From Swing to Mambo - Documentary short film sharing the importance of the arts and community in New York City. Created with the initial support from the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, Abyssinian Baptist Church, Center for Traditional Music and Dance, Bronx Music Heritage Center, and National Jazz Museum in Harlem (Directed, Interviewer, Storyboard, Producer & Curator). Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q1V0D0FOtc

Bizet Has His Day - Musicians and dancers find a way to connect virtually and feel a little less isolated in times of social distancing. Performed by The Revisionists and recorded in home studios across the country by band members in quarantine during the Covid-19 pandemic (Dancer). Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX6CA8infM8&t=4s

Harlem Swing: The Birth of a Movement - A collaboration between the curatorial and education departments at the Museum of the City of New York. The experience included a pop-exhibition featuring rare artifacts and ephemera from the early to mid- 1900s, symposium with swing and jazz dance legends, storytelling, interactive mural installation, food preparation workshop, dance workshop, and music (Co-Curator & Organizer).

Dreams & Defiance: A Salsa Unit Plan - A 92nd Street Y Dance Education Laboratory learning resource that includes lindy hop and jazz dance histories, movement practices, and choreographic exercices. The 92nd Street Y is a historic institution founded in 1874, the 92nd Street Y has hosted artists/scholars such as Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Yo-Yo Ma, Truman Capote, Maya Angelou, Octavio Paz, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Curriculum Writer).

Cutting a Rug: Evidence(s) of Social Dance in Brooklyn - Blog post published by the Brooklyn Public Library about social dance, lindy hop, swing, and social movements. Mr. Washington was prominently quoted in the post, problematized how the word integration is used, and helped frame the topic by including what’s included in archives and the peoples and histories that are excluded.

Dance Culture in New York City - At the Museum of the City of New York, a free elective for students in grades 8–12, took place on Saturdays, October 29, November 5, 12, December 3, 10 and 17 from 10:00 am–12:00 pm. Dance instruction included lindy hop, solo jazz, salsa, and bomba (Co-Curator). Link: https://www.mcny.org/education/dance-culture-new-york-city

Dance / Movement Exploration

Rough Cut of Dance Outtakes - Link: https://youtu.be/BuUA9mSCHi0

Wake-Up Wednesday Workout Routine - Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSOqMPHXr2M

Pandemic Dance Animations - Link: https://www.facebook.com/2530798/videos/10111331144307796

Jazz Steps - Link: https://www.facebook.com/2530798/videos/10110870361789656

Swamp Marsh Movement - Link: https://www.facebook.com/2530798/videos/10110927899798026

Film Trailer: Dreams & Defiance: Centering Cultural Expressions of People of African Descent -
Link: https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1y/k1ykxvg5i7

Film Trailer: Dreams & Defiance: Latin Dance Vs. the World - Link: https://youtu.be/7YRKsapsXDU

Movements Our Mothers Gave Us [Spring/Break Art Show Edition (NYC)]

Film Trailer Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMZ-d7F3O1I
Documentary Short Film Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STON6VketjM&t=3s

Peoples of African Descent in the Americas

27th Sessions of the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent - Oral testimony to the 27th Sessions of the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent mid-term review for the UN International Decade for People of African Descent (Expert Intervention). Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyr7Xcd7AJw

Dreams & Defiance: Latin Dance Vs. The World - Instructional film about Latin dances and cultures in collaboration with the National Jazz Museum (Director, Storyboard & Curator). Link: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=796357554567165

Curriculum

New York at Its Core Seminar Day: Rhythm & Power - This free seminar day for educators will explore the themes from the exhibition, Rhythm & Power, in conjunction with New York at Its Core, the first exhibition to present the compelling story of New York’s rise from a striving Dutch village to today’s “Capital of the World” (Co-Curriculum Writer). Link: https://www.mcny.org/event/new-york-its-core-seminar-day-rhythm-power

Rhythm & Power: Dance, Immigration, and Community Action in History - Curriculum illuminates multiple engagement strategies and lessons that engage students through music, dance, cultural studies, and history. Suitable for educators of all grades – and requiring no prior dance experience – this course is inclusive of information gathered by award-winning exhibitions and programs of the Museum of the City of New York (Curriculum Writer).

Apollo Theater Live Wire: From the Archives - Anthropology, history, performance, and curatorial film that shares an expanded understanding of archives. The feature-length film highlights historical spaces as archives, never-before-seen objects/ephemera from the Apollo’s archives, various performance styles as an archives, and the neighborhood of Harlem as a living archive (Project Manager, Curator, Script Writer, Lead Researcher).

Urban Stomp: From Swing to Mambo - Cultural anthropology-based curriculum that shows connections between art disciplines, ethnic groups, geographic spaces, and histories. (Curriculum Writer).

The Oyster: The Great Equalizer of New York City - Presentation that grew to be curriculum about the importance of oysters in pre-colonial, colonial, and industrial New York City. Presentation began at the Museum of the City and expanded since that time (Curriculum Writer).

Dance Culture in New York City - At the Museum of the City of New York, a free elective for students in grades 8–12, took place on Saturdays, October 29, November 5, 12, December 3, 10 and 17 from 10:00 am–12:00 pm. Dance instruction included lindy hop, solo jazz, salsa, and bomba (Co-Curriculum Writer). Link: https://www.mcny.org/education/dance-culture-new-york-city

Texas School of the Blind and Visually Impaired - Dance, movement, and therapy program for a class of cognitive and visually impaired TSBVI students. Innovated a unique style of “touch technique” that utilized touch, vision, and smell to teach movement (Curriculum Writer).

Select Press Reviews of Curated Work

· Artforum, Body Movements On “Urban Stomp: Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor, October 2025 Issue.

· The New York Times, New York City’s Creative Churn: The View From the Dance Floor, April 28, 2025.

· The New York Times, ‘Rhythm & Power’: A Little Bling, a Little Politics, a Lot of Salsa, June 17, 2017.

· The New York Times, At ‘Uptown Bounce,’ Salsa Dancing and So Much More, July 27, 2018.

· The New York Times, Birth of the Hot: Salsa in New York, June 7, 2017.

· British Broadcasting Company (BBC), En busca del lugar de Nueva York donde se "invento" la salsa, September 22, 2017.

· CBS News, Urban Stomp Feature Video, May 2025.

· Spectrum News NY1, Dance, Museums, History, April 28, 2025.

· WNYC, Dance Like a New Yorker, May 2025.

· ABC7 New York, Urban Stomp Video Feature, Feature Article, May 2025.

· ABC7 Los Angeles, Urban Stomp Video Clip, May 2025.

· ABC7 Chicago, Urban Stomp Video Clip, June 2025.

· New York Post, How New Yorkers’ Obsession with Cuba Gave Rise to Salsa, June 14, 2017.

· Huffington Post, Hip, Hot, and Hungry Happenings in New York City, August 8, 2017.

· PIX11 News, Explore NYC’s Dance Scene in New Interactive Exhibition, May 2025.

· TimeOut New York, Urban Stomp: Dreams, Defiance on the Dance Floor Explores 200 Years of NYC’s Dance History, April 23, 2025.

*9 of the Strangest Things in NYC Museums, April 1, 2025

*Best Museum Exhibitions in NYC, April 23, 2025

*Best Museum Ex hibitions in NYC, September 15, 2025

· Remezcla, This New York Museum Is Highlighting Latin American Dance Culture, June 2025. Instagram Post: @remezcla

· Red Bull Music Academy, A Visual History of Salsa in New York, June 13, 2017.

· United Nations News Centre, An Illustration of Resilience and Hope in the Face of Anti‑Asian Hate, September 12, 2021.

· United Nations News Centre (Chinese), Special Report: I Still Believe in New York—Using Art To Resolve Hatred Against Asians, September 14, 2021.

· United Nations News, Durban +20: Forging a Creative Path in Defence of Human Rights, December 6, 2021.

· Broadway World, Ailey Celebrates National Dance Day With Museum Of The City Of New York, September 16, 2025.

· Fordham Observer, Exhibit Explores the “Defiant Joy” of Social Dance in New York, October 2025.

· Mission Magazine, Urban Stomp Takes Visitors Through 200 Years of Social Dance in the City, June 2025.

· La Voce di New York, New Museum Exhibit on Dance Invites Guests to Strut Their Stuff, April 30, 2025.

· Chelsea News, Urban Stomp Showcases 200 Years of Dance Moves, May 2025.

· Dance Media Newsletter, Urban Stomp Feature (PDF), May 2025 (no link).

· DNA Info, Salsa's Roots Traced to City's Streets in New Museum Exhibit, June 16, 2017.

· Jezebel, Explore the History of Salsa in a New Museum Exhibit, June 15, 2017.

· The Dance Enthusiast, New York Meets Havana at the Museum of the City of New York, June 12, 2017.

· Art Daily, Bilingual Exhibition Traces History of New York Salsa From Local Dance Movement to Global Phenomenon, June 12, 2017.

· Centro Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Rhythm & Power: Performing Salsa in Puerto Rican and Latino Communities, December 21, 2017.

· Le Monde, Nueva York, une Histoire Musicale du New York Latino, January 4, 2022.

Interviews Related to Research

Interviewed for article related to Lincoln Center performance: New York City: Dancer's Delight, Lincoln Center of the Performing Arts’ The Score, June 28, 2019.
Interviewed for the United Nations News Podcast: Durban +20 - Forging a Creative Path in Defense of Human Rights, December 4, 2021.

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