Join us for Urbanity's 6th Annual Gala, Everybody Dance Now, for a day of performances, bites, beverages, auction items and more! All proceeds from the Gala support Urbanity Dance and its mission to engage, inspire, and empower individuals and communities through the art of dance and movement.
2023 Gala Changemakers
We are excited to announce the Changemakers who will be honored at Urbanity's 2023 Gala, Everybody Dance Now. These individuals have shaped not only Urbanity Dance as an organization, but also the Boston dance scene as a whole. We are so grateful for all that they have contributed, and we are thrilled to honor them at the Gala.
Alexander Davis
Alexander Davis (He/Him/His) (@SayAnythingAlex) is a homosexual, maker, performer, and fiber artist (@KnitDaddy) currently based in Northampton Massachusetts where he is working towards his MFA in Choreography and Performance from Smith College (@SmithCollege). It is going well. Alex and his primary collaborator Joy Davis create and perform together as The Davis Sisters (@SistersDavisThe). Most recently Alex has been working on a durational performance art piece where he tries to get his boyfriend Marc to propose to him. It is going ok. Learn more at www.alexanderdavis.dance or www.thedavissisters.com
Photo credit: Mickey West Photography
Dan Devoe
Dan Devoe is an independent marketing consultant who served as Urbanity's Board Vice Chair for a decade. He has held leadership roles in marketing at a number of tech companies and was previously a practicing attorney at Ropes & Gray LLP. Dan retired from professional dancing after his one and only public performance in the role of Joe in Urbanity's Within the Lines in 2012, and now lives in rural Vermont where he dedicates much of his time to local zoning, housing, and competitive gardening.
Adrienne Hawkins
Ms. Hawkins has a BA in Education from Arizona State ad an MFA in Dance from Connecticut College
Ms. Hawkins was Artistic Director of Impulse Dance Company, Bass-Line Motion and Day Job Dancers
for over 40 years, and studio owner of Impulse ‘the studio’ for 10 years. Impulse Dance Company has toured throughout the world, and was featured in many festivals and colleges in the United States.
Ms. Hawkins has been on the faculty of numerous, Colleges in the US including Harvard, Mt. Holyoke, The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Boston University, UMass Amherst, Connecticut College, The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Rhode Island College and ART.
Adrienne T. Hawkins is well known as a teacher of the art of Jazz Dance through-out the world, she is an award-winning choreographer that is known for her incomparable mixture of humor and passion. She uses the technique of Modern, the soul of Jazz and the power of the theater as a vehicle for freedom in a communicative Art, Art that speaks to the audience. She is a published author contributing to books written on the subject of Jazz Dance.
In addition to creating dances for Impulse Dance Company, Ms. Hawkins has set choreography on the National Ballet of Iceland Repertory Co, Ballet Plus and Dance Express in Denmark, ICA in Tokyo, Northwest Florida Ballet, Portland Ballet, Houston Dance and numerous College Dance Companies in the US. She has choreographed rock musicals, music videos, commercials and industrials. Ms. Hawkins has taught the Art form of Concert Jazz in Japan, France, Denmark, Australia, Caribbean, Germany, Belgium and through-out the USA in Festivals such as The Harvard summer Dance Program, and The American Dance Festival in Connecticut, North Carolina and Japan.
She is a choreography fellowship recipient numerous times and has choreographed over 100 pieces, for companies, studios and working Dancers throughout the world. Impulse is proud to have been an opening act for such notables as Miles Davis, Al Green, and she also danced with Cab Calloway and the Cotton Club Revue.
Ashton Lites
Ashton Lites, also known as Stiggity Stackz, or just Stackz, is regarded as one of Boston's most renowned veteran freestyle dance specialists with 15+ years of intensive training in many different cultural and concert dance forms including Krump, Popping, Locking, House, Hip Hop, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Afro-Haitian, and beyond. Stackz is an experienced event organizer, instructor, choreographer, and is well-traveled in the underground Hip Hop competition circuit. Currently he runs a range of community-based dance and creative entrepreneurship development programs, events, and festivals through his organization StiggityStackz Worldwide, in partnership with notable companies and organizations such DS4Si, The design Studio for social intervention, The Boston Ballet, Red Bull, The Museum of Science, Artist for Humanity, The Harvard Dance Center/Graduate School, The Mass Hip Hop Archive, and many more.
Stackz is the City of Boston’s current Artist-in-Residence, working directly with the Parks & Recreation Department via the Mayor's office of Arts & Culture on creative programming to influence policy. Alongside community and organization work, Stackz is on faculty at Universities such as Emerson College, Amherst College, and UMASS Amherst where he is developing and sharing curriculums dedicated to Hip Hop dance and culture. Artistically, Stackz has participated in a range of fine art, film, dance, music and creative technology collaborations with acclaimed artists and directors such as Rashid Johnson, Nick Cave, Mariona Lloreta, The Hairstory Project, and Masary Studios to name a few. Stackz is dedicated to supporting and centering his community in achieving artistic excellence, economic sustainability, and historical recognition with specific care and attention to Black creatives across generations and creative outlets. He believes that if artists continue to build on these aspects in their lives and practice, they can better serve their own communities. You can learn more via the website at Stiggity.com
Liz Marconi
Liz Marconi was initially introduced to Urbanity Dance through her daughters taking youth classes and was drawn to get involved. Liz served as Treasurer on Urbanity’s Board of Directors and continues to stay connected as a parent, volunteer, and performance enthusiast. She is passionate about Urbanity’s important work in the community, its desire to engage and provide access to every dancer through the school, and its drive to bring together art lovers to watch the Company’s choreography tell powerful stories. Currently, Liz is a Vice President in AEW Capital Management’s Private Equity Group, she is a member of the Artemis Circle Leadership Committee for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, she is a Director Emeritus for the Anthony Quinn Foundation which she also served as Treasurer on its Board of Directors for over a decade, and she is on the Board of Visitors for Park Street School. Liz holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis and she is a Certified Public Accountant, inactive. She lives in the South End with her husband Joe and their two daughters, Siena and Sydney.