This week’s episode has been in the making since Episode 122 guest, Natasha Moore. I’m joined by interdisciplinary artist, choreographer, scholar and educator, specializing in dance forms of the African Diaspora, Winston Benons, Jr. He has extensive training in Afro-Cuban, Haitian, Afro-Brazilian, and Bomba dance, complemented by studies in Horton and Dunham modern dance techniques. He has curated and led intensive programs in culture and dance techniques in both New York City and Cuba. He is the Founder and Director of tRúe Culture & Arts, an organization dedicated to facilitating cultural exchanges, workshops, and academic residencies.

His works and studies have explored the intersections between Theater and Performance Studies, Curation and Visual Culture culminating in his graduate thesis entitled Marked: The Racialization Of African Phenotypes And Creation Of An Embodied Archive. Also an educator, he served as a lecturer at Pace University and an adjunct faculty member at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He has also held guest faculty positions at Ballet Hispánico, Peridance, Djoniba Dance & Drum, and Cumbe. He is currently the US/MS IB Dance educator at Brooklyn Friends School.

Recent choreography and direction credits include Amahl and the NIght Visitors and What Lies Beneath with On Site Opera, where he also served as the cultural advocate. Most recently, he developed and performed part 1 of a series entitled Conversations with Rothko at the SMART Museum in Chicago.

Where to find Winston?

the-culturalist.com

On LinkedIn

On Instagram

On Facebook

What’s Winson watching?

Barry Jenkins, Moonlight and other works

Dianne Reeves

Other topics of interest:

From British Guiana to Guyana

The Country of Five People

Madeira Islands

What’s The Highline?

How Chemical Bank became Chase Bank

ASWAD - Assocation for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora

Wideman Davis Dance

Special Guest: Winston Benons, Jr..