JCAL’s 15th Annual Making Moves Dance Festival celebrated culture, healing, and community with vibrant performances by Baila Society and Navatman.
The Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (JCAL) recently concluded the 15th Annual Making Moves Dance Festival (MMDF2025), a dynamic three-day celebration of cultural expression, healing, and community strength. This year’s festival attracted record audiences, cementing its status as a New York City highlight and celebration of the arts.
This year’s festival featured a special collaboration between Baila Society and Navatman titled “The Seed,” which explored powerful themes of collective care, identity, and safety. Returning from a sold-out run of “Roots of Resilience” at the Rose Nagelburg Theatre, these acclaimed groups use dance as a powerful medium for community dialogue and healing. Baila Society’s vibrant choreography celebrates Afro-
Caribbean rhythms and stories, emphasizing connection and cultural safety. Navatman’s Indian classical dance delves into resilience across generations, fostering reflection and empowerment.
“The Seed,” co-created by choreographers Sahasra Sambamoorthi and Ahtoy Juliana, featured principal dancers Jessica Ho and Edwin Tolentino and served as a festival centerpiece. It is an original intercultural performance work that brings together Afro-Cuban salsa and Bharatanatyam in a choreographic and musical conversation. Rather than aiming for fusion, The Seed is intentionally framed as a dialogue. The piece honors the integrity of each form while embracing the generative tension that arises in collaboration.
Baila Society and Navatman have announced that as a result of the piece’s resounding success at MMDF2025, “The Seed” will be developed into a full-length production, offering a model for how diasporic traditions can engage in meaningful exchange without erasure or flattening.
Alla Bronskaya
Baila Society
