Nia-Amina Minor and David Rue: Black Collectivity Presents: To Gather

Guest curators Nia-Amina Minor and David Rue invite choreographers and performers to convene and present new work to the Seattle community.

Week 1 (West Coast Artists): Thursday, October 5 at 8 PM | Friday, October 6 at 8 PM | Saturday, October 7 at 8 PM

Week 2 (Seattle Artists): Thursday, October 19 at 8 PM | Friday, October 20 at 8 PM | Saturday, October 21 at 8 PM

To Gather is a celebration of Black dance artists residing and creating along the West Coast. Over two weekends, guest curators Nia-Amina Minor and David Rue invite choreographers and performers to convene and present new work to the Seattle community. In the spirit of “gathering (n. / v.)”, this program encourages audiences and artists alike to witness and commune while supporting new works.

David Rue is a dance artist and creative professional born in Liberia and raised in Minnesota. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Individualized Studies that combined Journalism, English, and Dance, holds an MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle University, and currently works as an Events Specialist for The J. Paul Getty Trust. His work centers on conceptualizing and implementing large-scale public programs that celebrate the voices of black and brown visual and performing artists using the lens of equity, excellence, and joy. This work has existed within his institutional practice through organizations such as Seattle Art Museum and Friends of Waterfront Seattle as well as independent work commissioned by the Seattle Office Of Arts And Culture, The Aids Memorial Pathway Project, and Bellwether Arts.

Nia-Amina Minor is a movement artist, choreographer, curator, and educator originally from Los Angeles. Her work focuses on the body and what it carries using physical and archival research to explore memory and history. She approaches her practice as an imaginative space grounded in rhythm where improvisation, Black vernacular movement, and choreography meet. Nia-Amina is co-founder of Black Collectivity, a collaborative project developed through the Velocity Made in Seattle Artist Residency Program. She has received regional and national commissions for her choreographic and film work and has a working background as a performer and dramaturg. In 2021, she was recognized as Dance Magazine’s 25 Artists to Watch. As a curator, Nia-Amina has developed community programs and performances at Wa Na Wari, Velocity Dance Center, Heidi Duckler Dance Theater as an Outreach Associate, No)one Art House as a co-founder and curator, and Spectrum Dance Theater as a Community Engagement Artist Liaison. Nia-Amina holds a MFA from UC Irvine and a BA from Stanford University and is currently based in Seattle.