South Florida's Professional Dancers have organized themselves and officially made their presence known at the Dancers' Alliance Miami Launch Party on Saturday, November 19, 2011. Dancers' Alliance Miami is striving to improve the rights of South Florida's working dancers through solidarity and education and has received strong support from Dancers' Alliance in Los Angeles, CA.
The Launch Party began with inspiring words from Professional Dancer Dionne Renée, who is an AFTRA Miami Board member and the leader of Dancers' Alliance Miami. The talented entertainer, Bboy Kos was the Special Guest co-host of the event. Some of South Florida's most talented choreographers and dancers entertained the crowd with high-energy and message-filled performances during the launch party. Performers included: Trisia Brown, Teddy Brown, Sonja, Karlos Anzalotta, Brian Abadia, Kerine Jean-Pierre, Susie Garcia, Kehynde, P.K., No Bodies Crew, Raw Miami Crew, Focal Point, and U4ria. The purpose of Dancers' Alliance was promoted at the event and a clear sense of pride and unity was established within the dance community in attendance.
AFTRA Member and Dancers' Alliance LA Board Member Valerie Moise, flew in from California to be a Guest Speaker at the launch party. Moise spoke on the history of Dancers' Alliance and the importance of supporting the existing “It's About Time” campaign - which calls for a music video contract that provides for safety, fair pay, residuals, health & retirement benefits, and other provisions for professional performers. AFTRA Miami is assisting Dancers' Alliance Miami with this campaign and plans on maintaining a valuable partnership with this organization in the future. Support this movement and get involved by emailing DancersAllianceMiami@gmail.com.