Photo By Ahmed Odeh for Unsplash
The neighborhood-based nonprofit Over the Bridge Arts launched in Oak Cliff in 2017 with a mission to support new works and new artists.
“We persevered through the pandemic and have emerged stronger than ever,” founder Lori Sundeen Soderbergh says, sending along the lineup for what she calls an “ambitious” season seven.
September through April, the group will put on five productions at five Dallas spaces including the Latino Cultural Center, Oak Cliff Cultural Center, Sammons Center for the Arts, Artstillery and the Bath House Cultural Center at White Rock Lake.
The Over the Bridge calendar features more than 70 performing artists in dance, music, theater, spoken word and film, Soderbergh says.
The season opens with the Dallas film premiere of Out From the Wings from New York-based dance artist and teacher Michael Montoya. That’s Sept. 13 at the Latino Cultural Center. This Over the Bridge production received support as a sub-grantee from the National Endowment for the Arts.
“This film shares candid interviews with LGBTQIA+ dancers whose stories cut through the stereotypes and misinformation in a way that I believe is easily accessible and appropriate for all audiences,” Montoya says. “It shows the true impact of gender role stereotypes and the lack of representation in the arts for LGBTQIA+ people.”
Following the film, a panel discussion includes Montoya and Dallas dance leaders Lily Cabatu Weiss (Dallas Arts District), Charles Santos (TITAS / Dance Unbound), Dr. Danielle Georgiou (Dallas College, Danielle Georgiou Dance Group) and Cole Vernon (Bruce Wood Dance).
In November, a full weekend (17, 18) is set for the Burning Woman festival at Oak Cliff Cultural Center.
For a $20 entry fee, audiences enjoy a visual art installation curated by Oak Cliff artist Iris Bechtol, an evening of live performances and a drumming circle led by Kena Sosa.
“The drum is the first rhythm we hear in the womb,” says Sosa, an award-winning author, filmmaker and percussionist. “Our mother’s heartbeat. As we grow, some of us forget that this is what connects us to our world and to each other. A good rhythm is hard to resist; a great one heals.”
Performers for Burning Woman are selected by a committee of arts professionals, Soderbergh shares.
In February, an evening of spoken word and song is scheduled at Artstillery, 22-23. Titled, Messy Love, this “show celebrates all the untold love stories, even the messy ones.”
This is the third year for this production, which is curated by local volunteers who work in the spoken word and music fields.
In April, Over the Bridge Arts partners with Beckles Dancing Company to produce First Draft Dance, a platform for new choreography by local choreographers. Performances are April 5 and 6 at Sammons Center for the Arts.
For its season finale, Over the Bridge Arts tackles the topic of aging, April 25-27, in a collaborative full-evening production called Younger Than Dirt.
“Drawing on first-hand accounts from each decade of a woman’s life, the dance theater production will reflect on cultural mores and pressures, portrayed through an artist’s lens,” according to the announcement. This one takes place at the Bath House Cultural Center at White Rock Lake.
Collaborators are active in several performance companies in Dallas and include Soderbergh along with Danielle Georgiou, Tamitha Curiel, Tina Mullone, Kena Sosa and Sara Romersberger.
