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George Mason University’s Center for the Arts announces the full schedule of residency activities, including Great Performances at Mason appearances, for Mason Artists-in-Residence Silkroad Ensemble and Versa-Style Street Dance Company. Both groups will be in the D.C. area for several days, offering a variety of programming for George Mason students and the local community, leading up to their mainstage performances at the Center for the Arts on January 25 (Silkroad Ensemble) and February 15 (Versa-Style Street Dance Company).
“We are thrilled to welcome Silkroad Ensemble and Versa-Style Street Dance Company to the George Mason community. Their vibrant and diverse artistry will undoubtedly create new meaningful connections across our region, offering experiences that span musical traditions from around the world and the dynamic world of street dance. These residencies embody the arts’ transformative power to unite people and celebrate our shared humanity,” said Victor Adebusola, programming and engagement manager at the Center for the Arts.
Founded by Yo-Yo Ma and now led by Pulitzer Prize- and GRAMMY Award-winning multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens, Silkroad Ensemble returns for a third year as a Mason Artist-in-Residence. Silkroad operates as both a touring ensemble made up of world-class musicians from all over the globe, and as a nonprofit organization working to make a positive impact across borders through the arts. They accomplish this work through the collaborative creation of new music; social impact initiatives in the places where they perform; and educational partnerships in public schools, universities, prisons, and indigenous and refugee communities.
Silkroad’s January 25 program, titled Percussion All-Stars, is a showcase of percussion and musical storytelling through the exchange of rhythm, pulse, and melody from musical traditions across India, Mali, Japan, Italy, and beyond. The program features original compositions by the virtuoso musicians of the Silkroad Ensemble, including the world premiere of GRAMMY Award-winning bassist Edward Pérez’s And The Walls Became The World All Around, inspired by the children’s picture book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
Founded in 2005, Versa-Style Street Dance Company was created to promote, empower, and celebrate the artistry of Hip Hop and street dance culture. Named “Los Angeles’ Best Dance Troupe for Hip Hop Empowerment” by LA Weekly, the Company is known for its electrifying performances and inspiring engagement activities for schools and local communities. Versa-Style Street Dance Company seeks to empower underserved and marginalized groups worldwide through the movement and culture of Hip Hop dance.
On the February 15 performance, Versa-Style Street Dance Company marks its 20th anniversary with Rooted Rhythms, a mixed repertory of its most popular works. The program pays homage to street dance styles such as whacking, popping, and house dance, as well as a blend of Afro-Latin styles including salsa and West African. The group’s unique blend of choreography and freestyle elements—representing the diverse experiences of the BIPOC communities of Los Angeles—provides an “uplifting and joyous” experience, according to Maryland Theatre Guide.
As Mason Artists-in-Residence, Silkroad Ensemble and Versa-Style Street Dance Company will engage George Mason University students and members of the local community through a range of classes, talks, and interactive workshops in the days ahead of their performances at the Center for the Arts. Details about these residency events are listed in the schedule below.
Launched during the 2019–20 season through George Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, the Mason Artist-in-Residence program connects artists appearing at the Center for the Arts and its sister-venue the Hylton Performing Arts Center with on- and off-campus communities. Artists engaged at the Center for the Arts include Maria Schneider, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, Indigenous Enterprise, Sphinx Virtuosi, Nrityagram Dance Ensemble, Third Coast Percussion, Camille A. Brown and Dancers, Small Island Big Song, and Ballet Hispánico.
Open-to-the-Public Residency Events:
Silkroad Ensemble Lecture/Demonstration and Moderated Q&A
Thursday, January 23 at 2 p.m.
Center for the Arts at George Mason University (4373 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030)
FREE, registration required
This special event, co-hosted by the Center for the Arts and the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, features a musical demonstration by Silkroad Ensemble musicians, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Dewberry School of Music Professor June Huang. Topics include cultural understanding along the Silk Road, cross-cultural collaboration, and music as a tool for social impact. The event concludes with a Q&A.
This event is part of the Art x Peace series, co-sponsored with the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.
Versa-Style Street Dance Company Lecture/Demonstration
Tuesday, February 11 at 7 p.m.
Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center (3740 Blenheim Boulevard, Fairfax, VA 22030)
FREE, registration required
In this lecture demonstration, Mason Artist-in-Residence Versa-Style Street Dance Company introduces the audience to the electrifying world of Hip Hop and street dance culture. The session integrates both movement and discussion to explore the intersectionality between the arts, culture, and education using the lens of street dance. The dialogue will be moderated by Mazi Mutafa, founding Executive Director of Words Beats & Life, a hip-hop non-profit established in Washington D.C in 2002.
Co-presented by the City of Fairfax and Center for the Arts at George Mason University.
Versa-Style Street Dance Company Lecture/Demonstration and Moderated Q&A with Global Representations of Women
Wednesday, February 12 at 12 p.m.
Center for the Arts at George Mason University (4373 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030)
FREE, registration required
Versa-Style Street Dance Company members participate in a class discussion with students in WMST 100: Global Representations of Women and in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. Beginning with a demonstration from the Company, the event continues with a moderated discussion led by Professor Holly Mason Badra, Associate Director of the Women and Gender Studies Program. The conversation will cover themes such as marginalization, the intersectionality of identity, body, sexuality, self-expression, art as resistance, visibility/invisibility, erasure, power, and community.
This event is part of the Art x Peace series, co-sponsored with the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.
Rooting the Dance Series: Versa-Style Street Dance Company Workshop
Wednesday, February 12 at 7 p.m.
Dance Place, The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Theater (3225 8th Street NE, Washington, DC 20017)
FREE, registration required
This series brings together a diverse and multi-talented group of women artists who embody Hip Hop in the DMV. Pulling from their cultural roots and stories of transformation within Hip Hop culture, these artists will share Hip Hop dance as a form of community connection, soul connection, and joy. Jackie “Miss Funk” Lopez will lead a street dance fundamentals workshop. Participants are encouraged to stay for an open freestyle session with Versa-style Street Dance Company immediately after class. Open to all levels and experiences.
Field Trip: Versa-Style Street Dance Company
Friday, February 14 at 11 a.m.
Center for the Arts at George Mason University (4373 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030)
FREE, registration required
Versa-Style Street Dance Company’s schooltime matinee, ORIGINS of Hip Hop, consists of high-energy, unadulterated street dance movement that will explore and push the boundaries of the origins and roots of street vernacular dances such as locking, popping, Hip Hop, and whacking. The matinee includes lecture/demonstrations throughout the show that explore the historical context of street dance forms and sections with audience participation where students are encouraged to get up out of their seats and dance with the company.
The registration deadline is Friday, February 7.
West Coast Street Dance Fundamentals and Q&A with Versa-Style Street Dance Company
Friday, February 14 at 7 p.m.
Center for the Arts at George Mason University (4373 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030)
FREE, registration required
In this collaborative workshop with Lion’s Den DMV, a Filipina-founded organization dedicated to inclusion and positive wellness through dance/movement/fitness programming, Mason Artist-in-Residence Versa-Style Street Dance Company teaches fundamentals of street dance forms originating in California, including Locking, Popping, Whacking, and Krump. The workshop will explore the foundation of each respective style, including understanding the rhythm and timing of movements in relation to each style of music, the foundational grooves and vocabulary, and combining these fundamentals to develop a foundation for choreography and/or freestyle. The cultural and historical context for which each style was developed will be discussed to give students a deeper understanding of these street dance forms. The Q&A will be moderated by Lion's Den DMV founder Lauren DeVera.
Residency Activities for George Mason and Local Communities:
The events listed below are not open to the general public.
Wednesday, January 22 at 8:10 a.m.
Silkroad artists lead a composition workshop with students in the Music and Computer Technology I class at Fairfax Academy.
Wednesday, January 22 at 2 p.m.
Silkroad artists lead a masterclass with students in George Mason University’s Dewberry School of Music Percussion Studio, which is led by faculty members and co-coordinators Professor John Spirtas and Professor Jonathan Bisesi.
Thursday, February 13 at 11:15 a.m.
Versa-Style Street Dance Company gives a performance and workshop to students at Hunters Woods Elementary School in Reston, VA.
Thursday, February 13 at 8 p.m.
Versa-Style Street Dance Company leads a workshop for Urbanknowlogy 101 students. Participants will learn the fundamentals of street dance forms, including Hip Hop, Popping, House, Whacking, and Krump. To give students a deeper understanding of these street dance forms, company members will discuss the cultural and historical context for which each style was developed.
Center for the Arts Performance Information:
Mason Artist-in-Residence
Silkroad Ensemble
Saturday, January 25 at 8 p.m.
$55, $47, $33; half-price for youth through Grade 12
A pre-performance discussion with Silkroad artists Kaoru Watanabe and Sandeep Das will take place in Monson Grand Tier, which is located on the third level of the Center for the Arts Lobby, 45 minutes prior to curtain.
Mason Artist-in-Residence
Versa-Style Street Dance Company
Saturday, February 15 at 8 p.m.
$50, $43, $29; half-price for youth through Grade 12
A pre-performance discussion will take place in Monson Grand Tier, which is located on the third level of the Center for the Arts Lobby, 45 minutes prior to curtain.
Tickets for Center for the Arts performances are on sale to the general public and available for purchase in person at the Center for the Arts Ticket Office (open Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and two hours prior to ticketed events in the Center for the Arts Concert Hall), by calling 703-993-2787, or through the Center for the Arts website (cfa.gmu.edu).
The Mason Artist-in-Residence program is supported in part by the Wendy Frieman and David Johnson Fund.
The Silkroad Ensemble residency is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
About Silkroad
Yo-Yo Ma conceived Silkroad in 1998, recognizing the historical Silk Road as a model for cultural collaboration—for the exchange of ideas, tradition, and innovation across borders. In a groundbreaking experiment, he brought together musicians from the lands of the Silk Road to co-create a musical language founded in difference, thus creating the foundation of Silkroad: both a touring ensemble comprised of world-class musicians from all over the globe and a Boston-based non-profit organization working to make a positive impact across borders through the arts.
Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens and Executive Director Ben Hartley, Silkroad leads social impact initiatives and educational programming alongside the creation of new music by the GRAMMY Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble. www.silkroad.org.
About Versa-Style Street Dance Company
Founded in 2005 by Los Angeles natives and co-artistic directors Jackie Lopez aka Miss Funk and Leigh Foaad aka Breeze-lee, Versa-Style Street Dance Company was created to promote, empower and celebrate the artistry of Hip Hop and street dance culture. Named “Los Angeles’ Best Dance Troupe for Hip Hop Empowerment” by LA Weekly, Versa-Style is recognized for its electrifying performances and inspiring engagement activities for schools and local communities. Consisting of committed, highly skilled street dance artists and educators representative of the diversity and beautiful complexity of Los Angeles, Versa-Style Street Dance Company harnesses the exhilarating energy of street dance onto the concert stage for an unforgettable evening of dance. www.versastyledance.org.
About the Center for the Arts
A Mason Arts venue, the Center for the Arts is the centerpiece of performing arts on George Mason University’s Fairfax campus. Each year, the Center welcomes hundreds of thousands of community members into its nearly 2,000-seat Concert Hall. The Center presents an annual season of national and international professional artists through its Great Performances at Mason and Family Series—offering the best of classical music, opera, jazz, global music, dance, theater, and more. Managed by George Mason’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, the Center hosts many student and faculty performances presented by the Schools of Music, Theater, and Dance and supports the events of the School of Art, Film and Video Studies, Computer Game Design, and Arts Management programs. The Center brings distinguished visiting artists as Mason Artists-in-Residence for extended engagements designed to engage and inspire diverse audiences both on and off campus. The Center for the Arts serves as a performance home for many community arts organizations in the greater Washington, D.C. area. cfa.gmu.edu.
About George Mason University
George Mason University, Virginia’s largest public research university, is located near Washington, D.C., and enrolls more than 40,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. George Mason has grown rapidly over the last half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity, and commitment to accessibility. In 2023, the university launched Mason Now: Power the Possible, a one-billion-dollar comprehensive campaign to support student success, research, innovation, community, and stewardship.www.gmu.edu.