White Bird Announces Spring 2022 Season and the We Are One Festival

The festival brings in dance troupes led by artists of color from New York, San Francisco and L.A.

Adji Cissoko of Alonzo King LINES Ballet (© RJ Muna, courtesy of White Bird)

Portland missed White Bird this fall. With the organization’s long history of bringing exciting local, national and international dance performances to the Pacific Northwest, a fall schedule without such programming felt like it was missing an important piece.

However, now we can see the next White Bird project on the horizon, as the organization just announced its spring 2022 run—its 24th season. The three shows this spring will be part of a new We Are One Festival, a series of shows that seek to “present companies of diverse cultural makeups, led by artists of color.”

Showing at the Newmark Theatre on Feb. 24-26, White Bird first brings the Alonzo King LINES Ballet to Portland from San Francisco. In May, Dance Theatre of Harlem will perform a tribute to its founder Arthur Mitchell at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Then, at the end of May, another New York company, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, offers just one performance at the Schnitz—on May 25, the second anniversary of the murder of George Floyd.

White Bird will also program three hip-hop dance performances by L.A.’s Versa-Style Dance Company, at Beaverton’s brand-new, 550-seat Patricia Reser Center for the Arts. Those shows are scheduled for April 1-3.

The first tickets for these shows go on sale next year: Saturday, Jan. 18, 2022.

White Bird notes in the press release that it will follow all COVID protocols for both the state and respective venues. The company requires proof of vaccination or a recent negative test result to enter the shows.

Suzette Smith

Suzette Smith is a journalist from Detroit and the culture editor of Willamette Week. She is curious about a great many things. Follow her on Twitter: @suzettesmith.

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