Arts & Entertainment
Two decades of dance
Gay-helmed company plans bevy of anniversary performances
Dana Tai Soon Burgess says building a foundation of donors who believe in his work has been essential to his success. (Photo courtesy DTSB)
The Dana Tai Soon Burgess dance company kicks off its 20th anniversary season next week with several performances.
On April 5-6, the outfit will perform several works over two nights at the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre (800 21st Street, NW) on the George Washington University campus.
Among the works are:
- “Becoming American” — which explores the experience of a Korean child uprooted from her birthplace when she is adopted by Caucasian American parents. The lead dancer is Katia Chupashko whose personal story is told in the work.
- “Hyphen” — which looks at the experience of being a “hyphenated” American (as in Korean-American). It features the full company.
- “Khaybet” — a solo dance performed by associate artistic director Connie Fink which depicts a woman at the end of her life. Burgess participated in a cultural exchange which led to the work in Pakistan.
- “Fractures” — a spare work depicting a love triangle to be performed by Yeonjin Cho, Kelly Southall and Sarah Halzack.
Tickets are $25 for general admission but discounts are available. Details are at dtsbco.com.
Burgess, who’s openly gay, says it’s exciting to see his eponymous company reach 20 years.
“Often we associate dance with being something very ephemeral and once it’s done, it’s gone, but it really attests to the staying power of our company and the work we do and the aesthetic we’ve developed to still be here,” he says. “Our community really supports us and that’s tantamount for an arts organization to feel we have a place and a home and we feel that.”
Though Burgess’s work isn’t LGBT specific, four of the 11 in his company are openly LGBT. While other gay arts companies, such as Ganymede Arts, have either closed or are struggling, how has Burgess kept going despite the tough economy?
“There are several ways an organization like ours can grow even within those confines,” he says. “When you’re producing work of high quality and individuals are really taken by that work, then they want to get involved if you ask them. If there’s enough of a structure in place for them to be a supporter and to feel part of an organization, they will. It’s a lot of work … you also have to realize ways to make even very specific themes, like this piece about being a Korean adoptee, reach out and have meaning to a larger group. There’s a universality that must reach out to all audience members so while they might think, ‘Wow, that’s specific, I’m not a Korean adoptee,’ it still says something about diversity and inclusion and they can feel an empathy and beauty in the work they can relate to … there are lots of approaches you can take to make niche work successful.”
When Burgess, who grew up in an art-rich household in Santa Fe, started the company just two years after moving to Washington, there were just seven dancers working mostly on a volunteer basis. The company now has a different structure altogether and Burgess, who last danced himself in about 2008, works full time in the field; he also teaches dance at George Washington.
He says he doesn’t particularly miss performing himself because in his coaching he’s “constantly moving.”
“I feel completely connected to the field in a way that’s perhaps more three dimensional than it was 20 years ago,” he says.
The group also plans a May 18 anniversary performance at the National Portrait Gallery, a spring tour of the Middle East sponsored by the U.S. State Department, a September perfornance also at the Marvin Theatre with other works including the gay-themed “Charlie Chan and the Mystery of Love,” and a private reception for donors at the Arts Club of Washington.
The Washington Post once called Burgess the region’s “leading dance artist, consistently following his own path and producing distinctive, well-considered works.”
History
Julius’ Bar ‘sip-in’ laid groundwork for Stonewall
Tuesday marked 60 years since four gay activists held protest
While Stonewall is widely considered the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement in the U.S., a lesser-known protest inside a Greenwich Village bar three years earlier helped lay critical groundwork for what would follow.
Tuesday marked 60 years since the Julius’ Bar “sip in.”
On April 21, 1966, four gay rights activists — Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell, John Timmons, and later Randy Wicker — walked into Julius’ Bar and staged what would become known as a “sip-in” to challenge state liquor regulations on serving alcoholic beverages to gay men — with a drink.
Modeled after the sit-ins that challenged racial segregation across the American South, the protest was designed to confront discriminatory practices targeting LGBTQ patrons in public spaces.
At the time, the Mattachine Society — one of the country’s earliest gay rights groups — was actively pushing back against policies enforced by the New York State Liquor Authority. One of those policies could have resulted in the loss of liquor licenses for serving known or suspected gay men and lesbians. The participants had visited multiple establishments, openly identified themselves as homosexual, and requested a drink — with the anticipation of being denied.
Their final stop was Julius’, where reporters and a photographer had gathered to document the moment. When Leitsch declared their identity, the bartender covered their glasses and refused service, reportedly saying, “I think it’s against the law.” The next day, the New York Times ran a story with the headline, “3 Deviates Invite Exclusion by Bars,” cementing the moment in the public record.
Though initially framed with disrespect — the term “sip-in” itself was coined as a play on civil rights protests — the action marked a turning point. It brought national attention to the systemic discrimination LGBTQ people faced and helped catalyze changes in how liquor laws were enforced. In the years that followed, the protest contributed to the emergence of licensed, more openly gay-friendly bars, which became central social and organizing spaces for LGBTQ communities.
The Washington Blade originally covered when the bar was officially added to the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Today, historians and advocates increasingly recognize the “sip-in” as a key pre-Stonewall milestone. According to the New York City LGBTQ Historic Sites Project, the protest not only increased visibility of the early LGBTQ rights movement but also exposed widespread surveillance and entrapment tactics used against the community.
Marking the 60th anniversary of the event, commemorations have taken place in New York and across the country. Reflecting on its enduring legacy, Amanda Davis, executive director of the NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project, spoke about the event.
“Julius’ Bar is a place you can visit and viscerally connect with history,” said Davis. “We’re thrilled to have solidarity locations across the country join us in commemorating the ‘sip-in’’s 60th anniversary and the queer community’s First Amendment right to peaceably assemble.”
For current stewards of the historic bar, the responsibility of preserving that legacy remains front of mind.
“It’s a privilege and a responsibility to be the steward of a place so important to American and LGBTQ history,” said current owner of Julius’ Bar, Helen Buford. “The events of the 1966 Sip-In here at Julius’ resonated across the country and inspired countless others to stand proud for their rights.”
The timing couldn’t have come at a more important moment, Kymn Goldstein, executive director of the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives, explained.
“At a time when our community faces renewed challenges, coming together in resilience and solidarity reminds us of the power in our collective resistance,” Goldstein said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, an organization dedicated to defending rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution, is currently tracking 519 anti-LGBTQ bills across the U.S. The majority are targeted at restricting transgender rights — particularly related to gender-affirming care, sports participation, and the use of public bathrooms.
Some additional groups and bars that held their own “sip-in” as solidarity events to uplift this historic milestone are from across the country include:
Alice Austen House at Steiny’s Pub, Staten Island, N.Y.
Bellows Falls Pride Committee at PK’s Irish Pub, Bellows Falls, Vt.
Brick Road Coffee, Mesa, Ariz.
Brick Road Coffee, Tempe, Ariz.
Dick Leitsch’s Family at Old Louisville Brewery, Louisville, Ky.
The Faerie Playhouse & LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana at Le Cabaret, New Orleans
Harlem Pride & John Reddick at L’Artista Italian Kitchen & Bar, New York
JOYR!DE KiKi at Loafers Cocktail Bar, New York
Matthew Lawrence & Jason Tranchida / Headmaster at Deadbeats Bar, Providence, R.I.
Mazer Lesbian Archives at Alana’s Coffee, Los Angeles
New Hope Celebrates at The Club Room, New Hope, Pa.
Queer Memory Project at the University of Evansville Multicultural Student Commons / Ridgway University Center, Evansville, Ind.
Sandy Jack’s Bar, Brooklyn, N.Y.
St. Louis LGBT History Project at Just John Club, St. Louis
The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch was held at Salamander Washington DC on Sunday, April 19. Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) was presented with the Allyship Award.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The umbrella LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C. held its annual Night of Champions Gala at the Georgetown Marriott on Saturday, April 18. Team D.C. presented scholarships to local student athletes and presented awards to Adam Peck, Manuel Montelongo (a.k.a. Mari Con Carne), Dr. Sara Varghai, Dan Martin and the Centaur Motorcycle Club. Sean Bartel was posthumously honored with the Most Valuable Person Award.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
I don’t see the point in a relationship
Julius’ Bar ‘sip-in’ laid groundwork for Stonewall
Trans parent charged with kidnapping, allegedly fled to Cuba with child
Rehoboth Summer Kickoff Party set for May 15 with Ashley Biden
Curve magazine honors Washington Blade publisher
Inside the lonely world of MAGA gay men
Wagons ho! High-class, head-turning haulers
Rorschach stages ‘Dragon Play’ in unlikely, raw space
‘Big Mistakes’ an uneven – but worthy – comedic showcase
