Pre-Festival Event
with EMILY RABOTEAU and SUSAN MUADDI DARRAJ
Friday, July 12, 2024, 7:00 - 8:30PM EST
at Ballet Hispánico, NYC
We’re honored to present LESSONS FOR SURVIVAL: MOTHERING AGAINST “THE APOCALYPSE” by award winning author and critic EMILY RABOTEAU at Ballet Hispánico on Friday, July 12th, 7PM - 8:30PM EST. In her latest work of art, Raboteau “crafts a powerfully moving meditation on race, climate, environmental justice—and what it takes to find shelter.”
Join us as we watch her words come to life with a dance performance created by Ballet Hispánico (BH) choreographer Rodney Hamilton and a Ballet Hispánico dancer. Award winning author, Susan Muaddi Darraj (BEHIND YOU IS THE SEA) will moderate the conversation.
THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
We will be livestreaming the event for those who are not able to join us in person!
RSVP at events@kwelijournal.org
Please note: For security purposes, please register with your full name and the full names of your guests and specify if you are attending virtually or in person. Thank you.
Kweli Journal is excited to partner with Ballet Hispánico to present this special #KweliLitFest24 pre-festival event.
ARTISTS
EMILY RABOTEAU
Emily Raboteau writes at the intersection of social and environmental justice, race, climate change, and parenthood. Her most recent book is Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against 'the Apocalypse." Since the release of the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, she has focused on writing about the climate crisis. A contributing editor at Orion Magazine and a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books, Raboteau’s writing has recently appeared and been anthologized in the New Yorker, the Atlantic, the New York Times, New York Magazine, The Nation, Best American Science Writing, Best American Travel Writing, and elsewhere. She serves as nonfiction faculty at the Bread Loaf Environmental Writing Conference and is a full professor at the City College of New York (CUNY) in Harlem, once known as “the poor man’s Harvard.” She lives with her family in the Bronx.
SUSAN MUADDI DARRAJ
Susan Muaddi Darraj is an award-winning writer of books for adults and children. She won an American Book Award, two Arab American Book Awards, and a Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artists Award. In 2018, she was named a USA Artists Ford Fellow. Her books include her linked short story collection, A Curious Land, as well as the Farah Rocks children’s book series. She lives in Baltimore, where she teaches creative writing at Harford Community College and the Johns Hopkins University. Her new novel, BEHIND YOU IS THE SEA, was published in January 2024 by HarperVia.
RODNEY HAMILTON
Rodney Hamilton began his training in his native St. Louis at several schools including Carr Lane V.P.A., the Center of Contemporary Arts, and Alexandra School of Ballet. He also studied with Ms. Katherine Dunham and joined the chorus at the MUNY where he performed for seven years. After arriving in New York City, he graduated with a BFA in Dance from the Juilliard School and joined Ballet Hispánico where he was a principal dancer and assistant rehearsal director for 10 years. Mr. Hamilton holds an MFA in Dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He has taught ballet, modern, and Dunham technique all over the world. Mr. Hamilton is happy to be returning home to Ballet Hispánico as a faculty member at the School of Dance and to take on the role of BHdos Rehearsal Director.
BRIA VAINQUEUR
Bria Vainqueur was born and raised in New Jersey. She began her studies in dance at three years old and is currently a part of the Pa’lante Scholarship Program at Ballet Hispánico. “The Pa’lante Scholars initiative is an innovative, full-tuition scholarship for professional studies training designed to bridge the gap between the pre-professional and professional stages of a dancer’s career. Ballet Hispánico is answering the need for more career centered programs that build artistry and leadership for our communities, without the financial burden often tied to professional development.” Bria is in her second season with Pa’lante.
KEY EVENT INFO:
Performance, Reading & Conversation feat. Emily Raboteau with Susan Muaddi Darraj
A #KweliLitFest24 Pre-Festival Event
Date: Friday, Friday 12th, 7PM - 8:30PM EST
Location: Ballet Hispánico (167 West 89th Street, New York, NY 10024)
A Look Back | #KweliLitFest23 at Ballet Hispánico
with
Pulitzer Prize Finalist Ingrid Rojas Contreras
