Out in the Tropics Festival – 2014
June 25-29, 2014
Miami Beach LGBT Visitors’ Center, Miami Beach Botanical Garden, INKUB8, On.Stage Black.Box Theater at Miami Dade County Auditorium, and The Colony Theater
COST: Poetry Reading and Panel are Free to the Public. (Please RSVP at info@fundarte.us)
The Colony Theater and Miami Dade County Auditorium On.Stage Black.Box are ticketed events. See pricing below.

Now in its fifth season, FUNDarte’s Out in the Tropics is a unique, daring, and artistically outstanding performance festival that features work by some of today’s most innovative and relevant GLBTQ artists.

Calendar of Events:

Wednesday, June 25th – 6PM at Miami Beach Botanical Garden: Cocktail Party
Neil de la Flor reads from his new book “An Elephant’s Memory of Blizzards” – This cutting-edge literary work addresses the process of memory via a hybrid literary language that obscures boundaries between prose and poetry. Poet Carlos Pintado will also read from his work. Both poets will engage the audience in an interactive ‘reading’. The event will be presented in an informal Salon-style in an open-air environment at the magnificent, newly-remodeled Miami Beach Botanical Garden. FREE! Please RSVP at info@fundarte.us

Thursday, June 26th – 7PM at GLBT Visitors’ Center, Miami Beach (1130 Washington Ave, Miami Beach): LGBTQ Community Panel – Cocktail Party
This informative and entertaining panel discussion features all artists participating in Out in the Tropics, along with local LGBTQ artists and activists, providing the local LGBTQ community with expanded possibilities for exploring LGBTQ culture in a safe and encouraging environment. Participants will have an opportunity to meet this year’s visiting artists in an intimate, informal setting conducive to conversation, intimate personal disclosure, and intercultural exchange. FREE! Please RSVP at info@fundarte.us.

Friday, June 27th – 8:30PM at The Colony Theater: “Uncovered: The Diary Project”
Sean Dorsey Dance Company’s “Uncovered: The Diary Project” is a series of powerful dances that reveal the lives and stories that history has tried to erase. This impactful and highly praised work is the culmination of a year-and-a-half long research process in which Dorsey uncovered and researched diaries of transgender and queer people – from the famous to the unknown. Dorsey’s company brings a poetic storytelling and well crafted dance to Miami for the second time!

$25 General Admission, $20 students (under 18) and seniors (over 65), with I.D. Purchase through www.colonytheatremiamibeach.com and by phone 305. 434.7091 (service charges apply), or in-person (no service charges) at the Colony Theater Box Office 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, Tuesday through Saturday Noon to 5PM. Group rates are available.

Saturday, June 28th at 2PM: Master Class by Sean Dorsey
Most transgender people have never set foot in a dance class, yoga studio, or gym: these spaces often feel unsafe and even hostile toward their unique bodies and experiences. Dorsey’s Master Class provides a space where everyone can experience dance and movement in a supportive environment. The workshop is open to the general community, fostering an environment where all are equally accepted. FREE! Please RSVP at info@fundarte.us. Location TBD.

Saturday June 28th at 8:30 PM and Sunday, June 29th at 7:00 p.m. at On.Stage Black.Box Thetare at MDCA: “TOCABA” by Juan Carlos Lerida.
This new performance by choreographer, dancer and Flamenco scholar Juan Carlos Lerida and collaborators Raul Cantizano & Niño de Elche looks at the possible physicality of a flamenco trio, and breaks open its formalized structures by blurring the lines of the feminine and masculine, detonating the preconceived behaviors of guitarist (TO), singer (CA) and dancer (BA), and pushing the form to its limits. This playful and subversive performance irreverently confronts sacred notions, and feels like a virtuoso grunge band doing flamenco contact improvisation in a post-modern tablao. You will never look at Flamenco the same after this!

$30 General Admission, $25 students (under 18) and seniors (over 65), with I.D. Purchase through www.ticketmaster.com and by phone (800) 745-3000 (service charges apply), or in-person (no service charges) at the Miami Dade County Auditorium On.Stage Black.box day of show starting at 10:00 a.m. and in advance at the Miami Dade County Auditorium, 2901 W Flagler St., Miami, FL 33135 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Group rates are available by calling (786) 343-1422. A limited number of $50 VIP tickets are available, VIP tickets includes Wine or Champagne and preferred seats.

Sunday, June 29th – 1PM at MDCA On.Stage Black.Box: Master Class by Juan Carlos Lerida.
This class will cover body technique and improvisation based upon flamenco techniques and composition based upon choreographic elements of flamenco. Purpose: to develop and improve rhythmic perception and movement by means of flamenco and contemporary dance techniques. Practice: Using various theoretical and practical exercises, consisting of imaginative and ludic essence, dancers work to generate harmonious, natural relationships, which is fundamental in comprehending the movements and interpretations of flamenco. This class is recommended for dancers who want to add the style and/or aesthetics of flamenco to their creative language. FREE! RSVP at info@fundarte.us

FUNDarte presents Out In The Tropics 2014, featuring “Uncovered: The Diary Project” by Sean Dorsey Dance from San Francisco on Friday, June 27 at 8:30 p.m. at The Colony Theater (1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach); “TOCABA”, by Juan Carlos Lerida, from Seville, Spain, on Saturday June 28th at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday June 29th at 7:00 p.m. at the On.Stage Black Box theater at Miami Dade County Auditorium (2901 W Flagler St. Miami), and other free events, such as poetry readings by two of Miami’s most celebrated poets, Neil de la Flor and Carlos Pintado, in an interactive bi-lingual performative reading on Wednesday, June 25th at 6:00 p.m. at The Miami Beach Botanical Garden (2000 Convention Center Dr., Miami Beach). Additionally, each of these artists will be giving free community workshops at distinct venues, and panel contributions at Miami Beach LGBT Visitors’ Center (1130 Washington Ave, Miami Beach) during the festival.

Join FUNDarte for five days of performances, readings, workshops and panels by local, national and international artists that reflect Miami’s contemporary cultural identity, and address the complex themes of gender politics and society globally. We believe that the extraordinary work of these artists, and the timeliness of issues of identity, community, and cultural expression they raise will enrich and excite all audiences.

OITT is Miami’s first and only festival dedicated to GLBTQ artists and presents performance, poetry, workshops and reflection by some of the most dynamic queer artists working and performing today.