A full week of dance performances, wellness workshops, discussion panels, dance classes and more will kick off Sunday, Aug. 9 as part of the Long Beach Black Dance Festival through Sunday, Aug. 16.

The free festival is hosted by The CrayProject, a movement and a platform for Black artists and performers to showcase their work, with the ultimate goal of nurturing and improving Black communities through art.

Originally planned as an outdoor festival called CRayFest, complete with local performing artists, carnival-style games and interactive activities, has, since the pandemic and anti-police brutality protests, taken a different direction as organizers felt compelled to use dance as a tool to uplift.

“The CRayProject decided to shift gears and become completely involved in the fight for equality and equity for the Black community,” said Executive Creative Director, Chatiera “Cookie” Ray. “We wanted to do something for us, by us, that can bring about some healing, fun, and change through the arts for our Black community.”

The festival’s theme this year is, “For Us, By Us,” and will explore themes of Black resilience through strength, storytelling, culture and celebrating Blackness through artforms.

Sunday’s program provides for a virtual “Meet and Greet” along with a program celebrating and promoting local Black businesses along with exploring issues connected to the subject.

The following weekend will feature three days of dance, Aug. 14-16. While the festival is free to take part, viewers must register, which you can do here: Aug. 14, Aug. 15, Aug. 16.

“Our main goal in putting this festival together is for the community to ‘dance’ together,” said Executive Creative Director, Chatiera “Cookie” Ray. “Dance is also a universal language and can also break barriers amongst people. It is a form of storytelling, education and fitness.”

‘For us, by us’: The Long Beach Black Dance Festival aims to empower

 

For more information and updates, visit crayproject.org or follow along on Instagram @crayproject.