yon Tande was recently hired as AS220’s Dance Program Manager, to replace our dear friend Betsy Miller who will be leaving shortly to take a full-time teaching position at Salem State University. Who is yon Tande, you ask? Read on!

1st American Shapist House for the Practice of Performance/Ritual.

yon Tande (né Whitney V. Hunter) is a culture worker, artist/activist and BLACK SEED Native with fellow conjurer Preach R Sun. He is committed to the principle of art as a catalyst for socio-cultural enrichment and understanding. His work centers around nurturing creativity and cultivating the spirit through the mediums of performance, education and curation. His works have been presented through La Mama, Grace Exhibition Space, through Panoply Performance Laboratory, Brooklyn International Performance Art Festival, Itinerant Festival and the Lumen Festival. He has worked with various companies and artists, namely Martha Graham Dance Company, Rod Rodgers Dance Company, Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group, Martha Clarke, Fiona Templeton, Daria Faïn and Robert Kocik, John Jesurun, Kankouran West African Dance Company, Yass Hakoshima and others. He directs his performance collective Whitney Hunter[MEDIUM], was a Movement Research Artist in Residence (2013-15), and a founding member/curator of Social Health Performance Club. yon Tande is presently a Ph.D. candidate and Driskell Fellow at Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts.

What brought you to Providence?
My partner and “heancé” Jude Sandy became the newest resident acting company member at Trinity Repertory Company and we decided that It would be a good moment to consider a relocation out of NYC. The decision was a lot more complex than this sounds, but this is the gist.

Light. Dark. Action © Rodney Hurley

What led you to take this job at AS220?
Upon meeting Marc Boucai and him introducing the position to me; it was potentially an answer to the question of how I could contribute to the dance and live art community in Providence. After applying, interviewing, being offered the position and thinking deeply about what it potentially meant to work in such a capacity with such an important Providence arts organization, I ultimately accepted the position as I believe in the mission of AS220.

What do you hope to accomplish at / with the dance program?
To get the entire family dancing through a program which encourages diversity, depth and sustainability. Dance is for everyone — the novice, the serious student and the professional.