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.”
Sports
Jason Collins dies at 47
First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer
Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to actively play for a major professional sports team, died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.
The California native had briefly played for the Washington Wizards in 2013 before coming out in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.
Collins in 2014 became the first openly gay man to play in a game for a major American professional sports league when he played 11 minutes during a Brooklyn Nets game. He wore jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student murdered outside of Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.
Collins told the Washington Blade in 2014 that his life was “exponentially better” since he came out. Collins the same year retired from the National Basketball Association after 13 seasons.
Collins married his husband, Brunson Green, in May 2025.
The NBA last September announced Collins had begun treatment for a brain tumor. Collins on Dec. 11, 2025, announced he had Stage 4 glioblastoma.
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” said Collins’s family in a statement the NBA released. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’s “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”
“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” said Silver. “Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”
“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” added Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.”
“He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”
Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week
Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.
The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.
Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.
“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”
Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.
Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.
Event Details:
📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026
⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP
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