Dancers Unlimited

Dancers Unlim­it­ed (DU) is a 501©3 based in Brook­lyn and Oahu. Estab­lished in 2009, the com­pa­ny cen­ters com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment as key parts of its cre­ative process to facil­i­tate authen­tic artis­tic expres­sion. Their sto­ries address decol­o­niza­tion, cul­tur­al cel­e­bra­tion, and com­mu­ni­ty build­ing root­ed in ances­tral and tra­di­tion­al prac­tices. While they are a dance com­pa­ny, their work engages film­mak­ers, tra­di­tion­al Pacif­ic Island cul­tur­al prac­ti­tion­ers, culi­nary pro­fes­sion­als and chefs, and envi­ron­men­tal activists.

On Gov­er­nors Island, DU will present HUI — From Moananuiākea to Lenape­hok­ing, a res­i­den­cy pro­gram that will work to unite Pacif­ic Islander arts orga­ni­za­tions and cre­atives in NYC to cel­e­brate and per­pet­u­ate Pasi­fi­ka her­itage through dance, the­ater, film, music, and tra­di­tion­al crafts. 

Through month­ly per­form­ing & visu­al arts instal­la­tions, cre­ative work­shops, and artist talks, the res­i­den­cy fos­ters com­mu­ni­ty, cross-cul­tur­al col­lab­o­ra­tion, and envi­ron­men­tal stew­ard­ship, reflect­ing the deep rela­tion­ship between Pasi­fi­ka peo­ple and the land and water. Root­ed in tra­di­tion yet embrac­ing inno­va­tion, this project ampli­fies Indige­nous voic­es and strength­ens con­nec­tions between Pasi­fi­ka and Lenape com­mu­ni­ties, local artists, and the broad­er pub­lic. The res­i­den­cy will also show­case DU’s cre­ative col­lab­o­ra­tors from the NYC com­mu­ni­ty, and the vibran­cy of the street and club dance culture.