Guests gathered at the Chicago Archery Center for an evening of dance and celebration. Anita Davis Dance Theater founder Lanita Joseph believed that the benefit was a way of exposing people to a different side of ballroom dancing—one that is more inclusive of race, sexuality and body size.
Dancers included C.C. Carter, Pat McCombs, Nikki Rashan, Anthony Martinez, Milon V. Parker, Trina Tru Luv and Marta Coronado, among others.
“I hope that people walked away from the event knowing that they helped children achieve their performing arts dreams,” said Joseph. “This event gave people the opportunity to do something great and be a star. The ballroom dance world in a lot of ways is very elitist and doesn’t give way to full-figure women. I wanted to inspire people of different colors, sizes, and sexualities to realize that they are all stars.”
According to its Facebook page, the Anita Davis Dance Theater “is a non-for-profit performance and educational group that promotes a positive self-image through theater, art, media, poetry and dance.” In particular, it reaches out to women and LGBTQ people of color in urban communities.
Photos and text by Terrence Chappell