Frederick Hammersley Fund, New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund, and the Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME-TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation.

.New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.

and Viewers Like You.

THIS TIME, ON COLORES!

GIVING THE AUDIENCE AN EXPERIENCE THEY CANNOT FIND ANYWHERE ELSE - CURATOR OF THE INDIGENOUS FASHION SHOW AT THE SANTA FE INDIAN MARKET, AMBER DAWN BEAR ROBE'S MISSION IS TO ESTABLISH A PLATFORM FOR NATIVE FASHION AND DESIGNERS.

ROOTED IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, THE DAYTON CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY GIVES AFRICAN AMERICANS THE FREEDOM TO EXPRESS THE STORIES OF THEIR SOULS.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION - LEARN.

FROM SCREENWRITING TO EDITING, KIDS AND TEENS STUDY THE INS AND OUTS OF FILMMAKING AT THE YOUNG FILMMAKERS ACADEMY.

IT'S ALL AHEAD ON COLORES!

THE ORIGINAL HAUTE COUTURE >>Amber Dawn Bear Robe: You guys are so quiet back there.

>>Faith Perez: How are you moving indigenous fashion forward?

>>Amber Dawn Bear Robe: That's a big question.

[Music] >>Amber: I can go on and on and ramble about this.

Can you just sit still please?

Indian Market is a really special event and it really is a unique event to North America.

Native Market brings in people from all over the globe and people coming to not only collect Native art but to learn about Native art.

And that's why a fashion runway really provides a platform to really confront people's ideas and stereotypes of what Native fashion is.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] If you were to do a survey and ask people, "what do you think native art is?"

Generally speaking, I haven't done this survey but generally speaking, the answer would be you know, buckskin beads, leather, teepees and headdresses.

So the SWAI fashion runway really provides an opportunity for the artists to be just creative and diverse and not be limited by any rules and regulations on what Native fashion can be and so I just think that is what makes the the runway so exciting.

There's no limitations.

Me nor or other judges imposing what we want to see on the runway.

It's open to their creativity and I'm just always amazed and excited to see what the designers produce each year.

>>Faith: How does it feel when you see Native American fashion being confined to a museum instead of being seen flowing on a runway?

>>Amber: Right.

Well, you know, museums and native art and artists is, it has a very complex history.

So when you look at Native fashion, when you look at fashion period, when you look at historical works that are in museums, they're in the category of anthropological or as an artifact or in the ethnographic section and the way Native art and Native fashion has historically been framed is, they've been framed, the work has been framed as artifact curiosity and something that needs to be studied but if the um, so it's just the way it's been framed but Native art and Native fashion has always been around.

It's the oldest design language of North America and I have to say museums and art institutions have just recently begun collecting contemporary native fashion so there isn't in comparison to other um fashion museums there really isn't a huge collection yet so far because native fashion has just recently been turning an eye in a larger public platform and it's nice to see these designs on a runway before they go into museum collections to see the designs how they were meant to be seen and worn which is on a human body with movement and sometimes sound and energy and flow.

[Music] >>Amber: From this year, one of the most stunning moments was the Catherine Blackburn and Melanie LeBlanc collection called Convergence [Music] >>Amber: Her finale piece was called Ancestor Dreaming and it was this beautiful antlers with a beaded, large beaded portrait of the designer's grandmother in the center.

[Music] >>Amber: This was the first time when a finale piece walked down the runway that there was a standing ovation and it really was an, it was emotional for me just to see the effect of how these works can move people was very special but I could give you many examples including Orlando Dugi who I'm wearing and the hand beaded word on here is Hozho which is a Navajo, beauty, harmony and balance and he did his first all-male collection which was fabulous so I think that there's so much that I want to say and it is really hard for me to navigate because every designer is so important and I don't want to A) speak for the designers but also I don't want to minimize the importance behind their work.

I don't want to minimize that because each designer has really their own story that is so significant behind the works that they do.

I mean when you look at Native artists who live in Alaska compared to Native artists who live in the southwest you also are coming from a different culture so that naturally is manifesting a different design language and so that design language, the diversity of that is really important to get out and so it goes beyond this generic buckskin, beads and leather, it goes beyond this generic Navajo Indian design that you can go into a Walmart and see a Navajo t-shirt so it is really about showing the complexity of Native design and that it isn't a generic language that people think Native design is.

But really the goal is the larger vision for myself and what I want to see for the designers is just to have representation on a national and international platform and that includes money.

I wish that there was, I wish I was the native Oprah.

I could just support all of these platforms that are so needed in America.

Fashion is a way to express yourself.

Fashion is beyond ascetic, beyond aesthetic beauty.

It really is, it's a voice.

>>Faith: Thank you so much for talking to us.

>>Amber Dawn Bear Robe: Me and Vegas we're so happy to be here.

>>Faith Perez: Thank you for coming >>Amber: Vegas, do you have any questions?

No she's good.

ARTISTIC LIBERATION [Music] (Ro Nita) The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company has a broad audience, individuals who love arts and culture, creativity and experiencing what I call the African American story from the soul.

The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company was started in 1968 by Jeraldyne Blunden.

(Debbie) My mother Jeraldyne started this company and built it because really there was no place for African American dancers to really train here in this part of the United States.

When you think of dance companies you think of dance companies of existing in coastal cities and she was very adamant about the fact that one could exist here in the Midwest, where people only thought there were cows and corn fields.

We are a performing company that tours and we also offer educational activities from K through 89.

But we are rooted in the African American experience which means we perform dances of that culture, of that conversation.

(Richard) DCDC's history is rooted in the civil rights movement, it's about the African American experience and now as the world is becoming multi-cultural it's relevant to today.

DCDC is the artistic exploration of multi- cultural reality.

If you like high energy, it's the place This is not some lullaby, this is very high energy dance and it's very easy to digest and it's very powerful and one walks away from a performance feeling great.

(Debbie) I started dancing with the company when I was 12 so I sort of grew up as the company grew up.

I started choregraphing when I was 15 or 16.

So, there's always been a place to grow and be nurtured here.

As we move through this 50th anniversary and I start to think about what the future holds for us, I still want to hold fast to those things that make us, us.

And, that's a very, very nurturing environment.

The roster of dancers for DCDC's first company come from all over the world.

Dayton is home for every artist that joins this company for whatever length of time.

So what they do and who they are doesn't just live inside of the studio space.

(Devin) I'm from Indianapolis, Indiana.

A really good friend of mine had previously danced for DCDC and he talked about them a lot.

So, he put DCDC on my radar.

But then when I saw them dance, oh, it put me like, head over heels.

I was like, this is my next spot.

If I don't get here, I don't know what's next but I have got to get into the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.

(Countess) I'm from Nashville, Tennessee.

I saw DCDC do the wonderful concert dance that they do and I was like, oh my gosh, like, that's a really big deal, like, this is really amazing.

So, I took the next year and a half after I met DCDC to prepare myself for coming to audition.

Being able to host a large conference like the International Association of Blacks in Dance during our 50th anniversary is a great opportunity to just allow people to experience DCDC and to experience Dayton.

(Devin) IABD stands for the International Association of Blacks in Dance.

Five dance companies, we call them the Founding Fives.

They all came together and they wanted to create a platform where young dancers could come audition, work, network all under one roof.

(Debbie) DCDC was one of the founder member companies.

There are five of them: Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Philadanco, Lula Washington and Cleo Parker Robinson.

So IABD is now this consortium of black dance, of black dance companies, black scholars, black artistic directors.

And every year, we all get together and there's a conference and festival and it's like a family reunion and it's just four days of being with people who know what you're going through and it's always an experience that revives and refreshes you.

We had a youth performance and a collegiate performance.

We had an audition for summer study for dancers and the takeaway was over half a million dollars in scholarships that were offered to those young dancers.

The Onyx performance was the crown jewel of the weekend because it showcased the major African American dance companies from across the country.

Lula Washington's piece, Fragments, Lula is a self-bred choreographer and Lula creates work that sparks her emotional id, no matter what it is.

And, I think Fragments talks about that.

I think the piece is created in a way that it can have modules added on to it as other things pique her curiosity.

Movement is our language, like words are a writer's way.

Movement is how we connect with our audiences and Fragments was a perfect example of that.

Philadanco performed Endangered Species, the piece that was created by Anthony Burrell, and it was one of the most incredible works of dance that I've seen in quite some time.

Clearly, he tackled a social ill and a social problem in that work, but the way it resonated in those dancers' bodies for the performance of that work, it should be seen everywhere.

People ask all the time, what is different about black dance?

And, I think it's the energy and the perspective and how we can reach out there and grab your heart and twist it in your chest if you'll just sit still long enough and come support us, and Endangered Species was the prime proof positive example of what that kind of work can do.

(Countess) People have said that they feel something when they watch the company, that there's like a spiritual connection that they can feel.

I know that the first time that I saw DCDC I also felt the same way.

The atmosphere that the organization sets allows us to be our full selves.

It allows us to be artistically liberated so that when we are on stage, there's this real sense of dancing from the heart and giving with nothing to prove but everything to share.

We try to think about that as we are performing and I think that people receive that.

(Ro Nita) I'd like to believe that with all of the other innovations that have happened in the soil of the Miami valley, DCDC is a part of that.

Arts and culture really touch the soul.

(Debbie) I think we are proud to be from Dayton.

We're here, we are rooted here and I'm hoping that we'll be here for another 50 years.

FILMMAKERS OF THE FUTURE (tense music) The Lakewood Young Filmmakers Academy was started in 2017 by filmmaker Eric Swinderman and his wife Hortencia.

Eric is an Emmy nominated film and television producer.

The Academy is like a community center for fledgling filmmakers.

Lindsey O'Keefe has attended the school from the start.

- I basically just fell in love with it from the start like the idea of putting my thoughts, you know, on screen and just showing it in a different way really.

I really gravitated towards that.

- [David C Barnett] The Academy is housed in a three- story mixed use office building on Madison Avenue.

The program is for kids and teens ages 10 through 17.

- We are about 50 50 on boy girl, and that's really been something that we're proud of.

One of our goals is really try to reach out to more students of color.

We're trying to expand further, you know, into other communities so that we can expose more people to this kind of program.

- [David C. Barnett] The instructors are all veterans of the film industry.

- So, we do have a lot of instructors and also guests, guest speakers, guest instructors, depending on what we may need for that day.

- Marker.

(camera shuttering) - The entire team actually has experience in like movies, professional movies outside of this.

So, it's really cool that they can bring that knowledge, and that they are so currently working outside of this camp.

(gun shooting) - [David C Barnett] The Academy offers two programs, a summer boot camp, that is a two week intensive program where students write, shoot and edit a film, and an eight week program that allows the students to dive deeper into filmmaking.

- You basically get to specialize in a certain thing you love the most for example there's a screen learning class, acting class, editing class.

I took the eight week editing course with Holly.

I actually liked it more.

'Cause the camp is more kind of a broad overview but these eight week courses really lets you dive deep into like something you're passionate about.

- My favorite part would probably be the fact that we can go through and do many different things.

We're not just stuck to, oh you can only do a writing portion or, oh you can only do a camera.

You can only camera operate or you can only do boom operations.

The fact that we can also just learn as much as we really want to, and go through everything that we can.

- [David C Barnett] All of the equipment needed to shoot, edit and produce a film is onsite.

- We have, you know, tripods and dollies and jibs, and just about everything you could need to make a movie.

We have three editing bays.

So, they have access to, you know, pretty much everything they could need to make a movie.

And we definitely don't try to teach them how to make a YouTube video.

We teach them how to make a film.

- In addition to learning filmmaking techniques, students gain confidence and learn how to work with others.

- At the end of the day, I've gained confidence in my work, knowing that it's up on the screen and people like it, I've gained self-esteem.

Going into the camp, I was a shy little 12 year old who was just like, "Okay, I'm gonna do this just 'cause."

And now I'm like, "Okay, let's do this."

Where's the scripts.

Where's the talent.

Let's go.

- It helps them see what they can do and see what they're good at.

You get to see what you like about filmmaking.

You get to see what parts you wanna do.

- [David C Barnett] After four years, the efforts of the Lakewood Young Filmmakers Academy are paying off.

Student produced films are being accepted into film festivals across the country.

In 2020, a student led film took home a first place award at the Kids International Film Festival in California, for the production of "The Other Side Of The Line".

- I was part of the writing team, actually one of the two head writers.

And then I was script supervisor on the side, and also did a little bit of directing.

We were just super excited, super in awe, and also very impressed and very proud.

- "The Other Side Of The Line" getting into a couple of other festivals, and there's still to come because there's some that haven't made their selections yet.

And then this film, "The Retribution" got into Toronto international Women's Film Festival.

It got into the FunMill Films Festival here in Cleveland.

We've submitted to Cleveland International.

We've submitted to multiple other film festivals.

- [David C Barnett] Graduates of the Lakewood Academy are also fairing well.

Alumni, Lindsey O'Keefe was recently accepted into the New York University Tisch School Of The Arts where she'll be studying Film Production.

The Tisch School is where award-winning directors like Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, and Oliver stone attended.

- Am hoping, you know, to make a career out of this.

You know, I don't really know what's in store.

I'm keeping an open mind, you know, being flexible.

Yeah, I'm surely hoping for the best.

- [David C Barnett] Well, not every student at the Lakewood Young Filmmakers Academy may go on to study film or get into the film business.

Every student who completes the course receives the red carpet treatment.

- We do give them a certificate for the most part.

Everybody gets one.

We also give awards to like actors to, you know just kinda what you would do at a premiere.

- We really make the kids feel like celebrities.

And I think that's the reward.

And it's not just about them feeling like they're famous.

I think when they get there it hits them of what they accomplished, and that this whole event is for them.

And they earned it and that they deserve it.

- Before I even knew this camp, I didn't think film was an option.

I didn't consider it.

- I am really hoping to make acting or filmmaking into my career.

- And whether they go on to do this as a career, I think that they'll always remember it.

But we were finding that a lot of our students are really considering this as a career, film schools, things like that.

TO VIEW THIS AND OTHER COLORES PROGRAMS GO TO: New Mexico PBS dot org and look for COLORES under What We Do and Local Productions.

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"UNTIL NEXT WEEK, THANK YOU FOR WATCHING."

Funding for COLORES was provided in part by: Frederick Hammersley Fund, New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund, and the Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME-TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation.

.New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.

and Viewers Like You.