Community nonprofit Dance Tampa Bay is making positive waves with its newest short film project, "The Power of Water."
This grassroots initiative provides an incredible opportunity for local artists to showcase their dance skills and celebrate Tampa Bay’s vibrant dance community.
"The Power of Water" is the second of four Dance Rising film compilations created from videos collected through open calls to local artists.
Dance Rising started in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. As dancers are usually gig workers, they don't get paid if they don't perform. And there was an extended stretch with no performances during the pandemic.
"Dance was villainized because… no shoes, next to each other, holding each other, lifting each other, and live audiences," explains Dance Tampa Bay Executive Director Shana Corrada.
Fearing that New York City’s small dance companies might vanish, dancers were compensated to film their self-choreographed performances and submit the videos. A Dance Rising NYC compilation video of the performances played at several locations around Manhattan, including Times Square, and at partner cultural organizations throughout the city. Post-pandemic, videos have continued to play at bus terminals, storefronts, and other locations.
Expanding to Tampa
Corrada had the opportunity to meet with Dance Rising NYC and the organization
invited Tampa to be part of the film project. It was the first time dancers outside New York City would participate. In 2023, Corrada and Dance Tampa Bay had four dance groups appear in a film in New York City.
"In 2024, they mentored us, and we became the first city outside New York City to do Dance Rising,” she says. “We are Dance Rising Tampa Bay. Ours is mainly for advocacy to keep the dance community connected and make people aware of dance in Tampa Bay. Sometimes, people look at dance like it's opera – like it's above them, but it's really not."
The Dance Rising Tampa Bay series is funded by the Arts Council of Hillsborough County Community Arts Impact Grant, Tampa dance store On Your Toes, and Dance Tampa Bay. The series is produced by Mad Bear Productions and Creative Director Heidi Marks, with music by local artists Nick Ewing and Sean Bucheck.
"The music is really inspired by the feelings I have, whether good or bad, about what's going on in the world, specifically concerning the health of the natural community, permaculture-based ecosystems,” Ewing says about “The Power of Water.” “The water is this kind of great unifier, great cleanser, and powerful. I like to believe that much of the piece itself was inspired by the way water is. And so I'm tying it all together to showcase that we're kind of crying and growing through these problems of the world. That's really where a lot of the inspiration for that particular piece came from.”
“The Power of Water” also features vocalist Fred Johnson, the artist-in-residence at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. Ewing hopes the film series draws more attention to the region’s impressive and passionate dance community.
"I just watched the first dance film, and it's so beautiful,” he says. “I just wish there was a way to get it even more out there so people realize what talented dancers we have here. We have such an army of artisans that are here and they're all waiting to go to battle. They're all ready to work and they're all ready to get moving and create. But sadly there isn't a call to arms to sort of push people to continue forward with a lot of their art."
Championing dance in Tampa Bay
The objective of this project is multi-faceted: to increase awareness and appreciation of the dance arts, encourage the creation of dance films, expand the visibility of dance in the community, and feature the talents of local artists. By including free and open calls to artists, Dance Tampa Bay ensures that everyone in the eclectic dance community can participate and showcase their abilities.
The short film series features "Tampa Iconic," "The Power of Water," "Energy and
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Courtesy Dance Tampa BayDancer and choreographer Talia Demps in "Tampa Iconic"Rebirth," and a revisited "Tampa Iconic." The devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton rendered specific planned Tampa landmarks unusable the first time around, so the final film will feature locations missing from the first film.
Corrada emphasizes the importance of the film series in Dance Tampa Bay’s overarching mission.
"In the arts, dance usually gets left behind,” she says. “We are usually the first cut in funding and forgotten in programming. We have amazing dance happening all over the city, but nobody has ever put the dancers in one entity to advocate for the art form as a whole. We wanted to make dance visible and get more opportunities for performers while bringing dance to the masses in the public realm."
Ballroom dancer Erica Holland participated in "Tampa Iconic.”
"It allowed me, specifically as a ballroom dancer, to get good visibility within the Tampa Bay community,” she says. “I did the video at the University of Tampa, in front of Plant Hall, because the video theme was historic and iconic places in Tampa Bay. Since it's ballroom, I also did it with a partner named John. It was a great opportunity because we were the only ballroom dancers featured in the video. My inspiration was to showcase partner dancing."
Holland explains why she feels the film is essential for dance visibility in Tampa Bay.
"I think it brings awareness to Dance Tampa Bay, which is an amazing organization, but it also brings awareness to dance as an art form,” she says. “I am a PE teacher, and one of our units is dance. Surprisingly, many of our young people have preconceived notions or fall into stereotypes of dance. Boys say, 'That's for girls, ' or people say, 'It's not a sport," or it isn't praised as other things in our community. Hopefully, when people see this, it engages them to be vulnerable to experience dance and breaks down those stereotypes and preconceived notions about the art form."
Corrada says many dancers often use Florida as their stepping stone to professional opportunities outside the state.
"We lose our artists,” she says. “We spend so much time and energy developing them, and then they don't stay."
Through "The Power of Water," Dance Tampa Bay is breaking down barriers and providing greater access to dance for everyone in the area, with free film presentations at multiple accessible locations and online availability. This particular call to artists focused on creating a stunning compilation of video recordings featuring dancers performing site-specific works in natural settings, explicitly involving water.
Artists were encouraged to incorporate water elements into their performances, whether dancing in water, using it as a prop, or as a backdrop. The film showcases the versatility and creativity of local dancers, highlighting their ability to interpret and express the theme of water in powerful and mesmerizing ways.
"The Power of Water shows how nature destroys but also heals,” Corrada says.
Diverse backgrounds and genres
Corrada is proud to show the diversity and different genres of dance.
For "The Power of Water," Tampa City Ballet collaborated with 10 dancers whose movements highlighted the beauty and significance of the Tampa area’s waterways. This piece depicts the life of the Hillsborough River, from its tranquil beginnings to its powerful flow through the city, celebrating the interconnectedness of nature, history, and community.
"Collaborating with Fred Johnson, Nick Ewing, and Mad Bear Productions brought a beautiful synergy of music, film, and movement, making this initiative a true celebration of Tampa's identity,” Tampa City Ballet founder and Artistic Director Paula Nuñez shares.
"By blending dance with our iconic landmarks, we hope to inspire audiences to view their city and its culture from a fresh perspective,” Nuñez continues. “Showcasing dance in Tampa Bay is essential because it highlights the incredible local talent within our community while connecting diverse audiences through a shared appreciation for the arts. Dance transcends language barriers, tells stories that resonate across generations, and fosters pride in our city's cultural richness."
Corrada invites everyone to stay updated on dance submissions by visiting the website or subscribing to email notifications.
"Don't ever think because you're not formally trained that you can't dance,” she says. “Anybody can dance, and everybody could submit. We were able to use every single person's submission. No one got left out. Mad Bear Productions made it longer to include everybody. The music was extended, too. Heidi Marks did her part to ensure that everyone who registered and submitted could be used in the process."
Reaching a larger audience
In late March, “Tampa Iconic" and "The Power of Water" will both be featured at the Gasparilla International Film Festival, introducing a larger audience to these visually stunning films that celebrate the beauty of dance and the natural world.
"It inspires creativity, encourages community engagement, and ensures that art remains accessible to everyone,” Nuñez says. “We're grateful to have an organization like Dance Tampa Bay, which actively supports initiatives for both emerging and professional artists while expanding the visibility and appreciation of local dance."
In the future, Corrada hopes to share the film with the arts community, including theater and visual arts, to reach a different audience.
"It's very exciting,” she says. “For Gasparilla, we're going to walk the red carpet. Dancers don't usually do that. This is a celebration of dance that's been needed for a while. Dance is generally in a studio. We must go out there and show people what we're doing.
A shortened version of “Tampa Iconic” plays on informational kiosks in downtown
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Courtesy Dance Tampa BaySammy Kedziora in "Tampa Iconic"
Tampa and at USF and Blake High School, the Hillsborough school district’s performing arts school.
"Seeing our film on the Tampa Downtown Partnership kiosks, I actually cried,” Corrada says. “It means so much to me because it's putting dance first and making it visible. I am so proud of the dancers who were part of it. I watched the dancers' faces as they saw themselves at the 'Tampa Iconic' premiere.
You made this perfect. Look at what you did and how beautiful it is. The feeling that they did something important and knew it was really satisfying to me. Seeing the different kinds of dance in the film, I feel absolute pride in our community. Dance is alive and well in Tampa Bay."
"I've had the most fun creating,” Ewing adds. “It's such an awesome thing, people coming together for a bigger, better purpose."
For more information, go to Dance Tampa Bay