NAPPY

presented by
NAPPY Dance Collective

NAPPY’s highly anticipated second season event orients towards the audacious, thrilling, arousing, funny, joyous, and even brutal. The event features original work by NAPPY’s distinctive creative voices, Cindy Ansah and Tiara Matusin, in collaboration with Christahh Ahh, Shermar Herbert, Jared Tobias Herring, M'Kayla Kongnetiman, and Mpoe Mogale. Making its premiere at the event is a dynamic dance film by acclaimed international actor, dancer, and choreographer Sam Darius set on members of the cast. Mainstays of the event include a vibrant Black business market, a curated gallery space, a lively pre-show concert, and a celebratory networking afterparty. New this season is a livestream offering of NAPPY that follows an audience member's journey through an evening infused with arts and culture.

NAPPY passionately presents an evening-length experience that invites all audiences to immerse themselves in the boundlessness of contemporary Black expression.

This event is made possible through the support of The GRAND, Canada Council for the Arts, Calgary Arts Development, Dancers’ Studio West, The University of Calgary School of Creative & Performing Arts, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, and every single collaborator and community member who has reciprocated our enthusiasm for the collective endeavor.

ABOUT NAPPY Collective
NAPPY Collective is an emerging all-Black contemporary dance collective committed to emboldening the arts and the spaces they inhabit, exposing them as capable environments for nurturing the pursuits of Black creatives. NAPPY is an acronym for Not A Political Playground Y’all. The history of the word “nappy” is tangled in Eurocentric beauty standards that were used to justify painting Black bodies as “lesser than” their white counterparts. The term has historically been used to negatively describe Afro-textured hair as dry, kinky, coarse, and dirty. We plan to confront and reclaim the term to describe that which is unique and beautiful and invite Black creatives to unapologetically embrace their multifaceted selves. Although Black existence is inherently political, we value stylization, individuality, and humanity, to display local Black virtuosity, collectivity, and diversity in its many facets and artistic disciplines.