Pentacle is pleased to announce the 2022 recipients of its pilot Cash Advance Program, a New Initiative designed to help performing artists overcome obstacles to their growth. Five New York City performing artists have been selected to receive a $5,000 interest-free cash advance loan paired with sound financial planning through mentorship and fiscal personnel support.
2022 CASH ADVANCE PROGRAM RECIPIENTS
Alison Cook Beatty Dance
Alison Cook Beatty Dance is a New York-based 501(c)(3) non-profit modern dance company founded in 2012 by Artistic Director Alison Cook-Beatty. Ms. Cook-Beatty earned her BFA in Dance at the Boston Conservatory of Music at Berklee. She has primarily performed with the Paul Taylor Dance Company and Taylor 2. Her choreography has been commissioned by Ballet Next, Columbia Ballet Collective, The Boston Conservatory of Music, NYU, and Marymount Manhattan College, among others. Under her direction in 2020, the Company was awarded grant support from Dance NYC, the NY Department of Cultural Affairs, and NYSCA. ACBD has performed throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, California, Vermont, Washington D.C., and Massachusetts! The healing and transformational power of the arts inspire the company to work with diverse groups within the community and collaborative efforts with other artists across multiple disciplines. (Photo: Russell Haydn Photography) WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN
VashtiDance Theater
Fatima Logan-Alston, a native of Durham, North Carolina, is founder and Artistic Director of VashtiDance Theater and an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and teaching artist. Fatima received her BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Teaching Artist Certification from the Teacher’s College at Columbia University, and a Masters in Liberal Arts from SUNY Old Westbury. Fatima has toured internationally with Forces of Nature Dance Theater, the African-American Dance Ensemble, and VashtiDance Theater. She has performed with Ntozake Shange, Bobby Sanabria, Paul Winters and at Lincoln Center Outdoors. Fatima has been in residence at Long Island University Post and Hostos Community College through the CUNY Dance Initiative. She has been a Guest Teacher and Presenter at Gibney Dance, Hunter College, Queens College, Barnard College, and the Caribbean Cultural Center and African Diaspora Institute. Fatima has received recognition for her commitment to dance education from Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, and is currently a teaching artist with Alvin Ailey Arts in Education. (Photo: Eric Bandiero) WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Gi Major
As a self-proclaimed cross-genre MC with a UK grime influence, Gi Major is not one to be confined by industry labels. Dynamic in style, Gi’s work is palatable to both mainstream hip-hop circuits and the UK championed grime & bass scene.
Kicking off 2021 with her third international appearance and an album release to go along with it, Gi Major has truly laid her footprint as a
forward-thinking MC, with a global impact. She has been featured on some of London’s premier radio stations (Kiss FM, Rinse FM, Flex FM, Reprezent, and Pyro Radio) as well as Europe’s largest bass music and soundsystem culture festival, Outlook.
Relocating to London for the release of her debut album, ‘MAJOR MOVES,’ Gi gives an even more literal meaning to the album title. The 8-track project caught the eyes and ears of famed music publication, EARMILK, who described Gi as an artist “who has taken bold steps in blending traditional New York rap sensibilities with the vibrant futurism of UK hip-hop styles.” While living in a city rich in it’s hip-hop roots, her unparalleled ability to cross-pollinate both sounds and markets solidifies her as a true pioneer in her own right. (Photo: Matt Mateiescu) WEBSITE
MICHIYAYA Dance
Founded in Fall 2015 by Anya & Mitsuko Clarke-Verdery, MICHIYAYA Dance is a queer-led dance company that pushes boundaries and centers the divine feminine by creating space for multidisciplinary performances and programming. Anya and Mitsuko created MICHIYAYA as a way to combine their voices-Anya, a Black queer choreographer/dance artist from Brooklyn, and Mitsuko, a white & Japanese queer visual/performance artist from Manhattan. Their performance work has spread to venues such as Yale University, Brooklyn Museum, Andy Warhol Museum, Gelsey Kirkland Theater, among others. They were selected as 2021 guest resident artists at the University of California, Santa Barbara; and 2019 guest resident artists at Carnegie Mellon University. MICHIYAYA has been featured in Art Forum, Thinx, Vice i-D, and more. Their educational and community initiatives have reached the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program, Gibney, and the Center for Anti-Violence Education, among others. MICHIYAYA’s vision has been supported by Microsoft, CVS Health, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and more. (Photo: Jeremiah Cumberbatch) WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | LINKEDIN
x
x (they/ze/fae) is a TRANSdisciplinary artist who offers a conceptual and anti-technique approach to movement-driven performance. Their work leans towards the experimental, avant-garde, and anti-modern. x has shared short films, installations, and dance works in Budapest, HU; Detroit, MI; Ithaca, NY; and NYC. Selected accomplishments include: AXIS Choreo-Lab Fellow (2022), GALLIM Moving Artist Residency (2022), Bronx Cultural Visions Fund (Bronx Council on the Arts, 2021), City Artist Corps grant (2021), LiftOff Residency (New Dance Alliance, 2021); Fellowship with The Performance Project @ University Settlement (2021-2022); Disability. Dance. Artistry. Dance. Residency Program (Dance/NYC, Gibney, 2021-2022). x currently teaches at Mark Morris Dance Center and performs with Heidi Latsky Dances. x’s first full length solo show is premiering this August at HERE Arts Center through HERE’s Sublet: Co-Op series. (Photo: Friday Anderson) WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | LINKEDIN
Background
We recognize that small artistic entities are small businesses. By providing them with resources, experienced personnel, seasoned consultants and access to networks, Pentacle believes artistic entities will be better able to instill best business practices, build a strong infrastructure, and ultimately focus on what they do best – produce great art. Ultimately, Pentacle’s Cash Advance Program is a business incubator for artists, providing bundled services and access to capital that will spur growth in the performing arts sector and have a net benefit to the larger economy.
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