Dear God. Dear stars, dear trees, dear sky, dear peoples. Dear Everything. Dear God. Thank you for bringing my sister...
Alice Walker The Color Purple
PURPLE is a multi-project universe that illuminates the power of “deep sisterhood for social change” through storytelling and movement. This sisterhood is how we thrive: we invest in one another, we honor and celebrate each other's brilliance, and we hold ourselves accountable to experiencing radical joy.
EXPLORE Our Altar Each galaxy in the PURPLE Universe
Return to the altar
Who is an ancestor that holds you accountable?
SEE Our PURPLE film series
Spotlight in PURPLE Films
"Grounding" Sydnie L. Mosley Dances Presents:
Spotlight in PURPLE
"Grounding"
A Rah Productions Film
Directed By: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Executive Producer: Sydnie L. Mosley Dances
Produced by: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Director of Photography: Orion Gordon
Edited by: Amil Cariño Charlemagne
Colorist: Jared Rosenthal
Producer: Ziiomi Law
Associate Producer: Shayla Diogene
Music: What’s Changed, “What does PURPLE sound like? The Amsterdam Houses EP,” available on SoundCloud
Music Producer: Ebonie Smith with Counterfeit Madison
Featuring the voices of elders of Amsterdam Houses: Patricia Ryan, Rebecca Gordan, Jean Campbell, Frances Edwards
With thanks to “What does PURPLE sound like? The Amsterdam Houses EP” funders:
Barnard Center for Research on Women
Hi-ARTS
And with thanks to Spotlight In PURPLE funders:
Lincoln Center
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation - Humanities in Place
The MAP Fund
"Things Take Time" Sydnie L. Mosley Dances Presents:
Spotlight in PURPLE
“Things Take Time”
A Rah Productions Film
Directed By: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Executive Producer: Sydnie L. Mosley Dances
Produced by: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Director of Photography: Orion Gordon
Edited by: Orion Gordon
Producer: Ziiomi Law
Associate Producer: Shayla Diogene
Music: The Ancestors’ Call Upon Us by Marques Carroll
Featuring the voice of Dyane Harvey Salaam from PURPLE, 2019, Lincoln Center
And with thanks to Spotlight In PURPLE funders:
Lincoln Center
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation - Humanities in Place
The MAP Fund
"Moon Journey" Sydnie L. Mosley Dances Presents:
Spotlight in PURPLE
“Moon Journey”
A Rah Productions Film
Directed By: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Executive Producer: Sydnie L. Mosley Dances
Produced by: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Director of Photography: Ayana Baraka
Art Director: Lillybeth De Los Angeles
Edited by: Amil Cariño Charlemagne
Colorist: Jared Rosenthal
Producer: Ziiomi Law
Associate Producer: Shayla Diogene
Featuring: Candance Sumpter
Featuring the voice of: Rosamond S. King
Lavender Meditation written by: Bianca Paige Smith
Music: Water, “What does PURPLE sound like? The Amsterdam Houses EP,” available on SoundCloud
Music Producer: Ebonie Smith with Counterfeit Madison
With thanks to “What does PURPLE sound like? The Amsterdam Houses EP” funders:
Barnard Center for Research on Women
Hi-ARTS
And with thanks to Spotlight In PURPLE funders:
Lincoln Center
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation - Humanities in Place
The MAP Fund
"Where there is a woman there is magic." Sydnie L. Mosley Dances Presents:
Spotlight in PURPLE
"Where there is a woman there is magic."
A Rah Productions Film
Directed By: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Executive Producer: Sydnie L. Mosley Dances
Produced by: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Director of Photography: Ayana Baraka
Assistant Camera: Jared Gauther-Snipe
Edited by: Amil Cariño Charlemagne
Colorist: Jared Rosenthal
Producer: Ziiomi Law
Associate Producer: Shayla Diogene
Music: Bamako By Bus by The KutiMangoes
Featuring: Sydnie L. Mosley and Marie Stephen
And with thanks to Spotlight In PURPLE funders:
Lincoln Center
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation - Humanities in Place
The MAP Fund
“May the spirits bless you.” Sydnie L. Mosley Dances Presents: Spotlight in PURPLE: “May the spirits bless you.”
A Rah Productions Film
Directed By: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Executive Producer: Sydnie L. Mosley Dances
Produced by: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Director of Photography: Ayana Baraka
Assistant Camera: Orion Gordon
Sound Supervisor: Orion Gordon
Edited by: Amil Cariño Charlemagne
Colorist: Jared Rosenthal
Producer: Ziiomi Law
Associate Producer: Shayla Diogene
Music: “May the spirits bless you.” (Soundtrack) by Orion Gordon
Featuring: Kirya Traber, Brittany Anne Grier, Sydnie L. Mosley, Candance Sumpter, Jazelynn Goudy, Ianne Fields Stewart, Rebecca Gual, Joan Bradford, Jessica Lee, Lorena Jaramillo, Veleda Roehl, and the voice of Dyane Harvey Salaam
With thanks to Spotlight In PURPLE funders:
Lincoln Center
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation - Humanities in Place
The MAP Fund
"Faces of Amsterdam Houses" Sydnie L. Mosley Dances Presents:
Spotlight in PURPLE
“Faces of Amsterdam Houses”
A Rah Productions Film
Directed By: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Executive Producer: Sydnie L. Mosley Dances
Produced by: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Director of Photography: Ayana Baraka
Edited by: Amil Cariño Charlemagne
Colorist: Jared Rosenthal
Producer: Ziiomi Law
Associate Producer: Shayla Diogene
Featuring: Angeles Castellanos, Yvonne Jackson, Patricia Ryan, Fernande Courtois, Tanya Hutcheson, Marie Stephen, Zoraida Rivera, Noelia Valles, Frances Edwards, and Rita Johnson
Music: Amsterdam Houses, “What does PURPLE sound like? The Amsterdam Houses EP,” available on SoundCloud
Music Producer: Ebonie Smith with Counterfeit Madison
With thanks to “What does PURPLE sound like? The Amsterdam Houses EP” funders:
Barnard Center for Research on Women
Hi-ARTS
And with thanks to Spotlight In PURPLE funders:
Lincoln Center
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation - Humanities in Place
The MAP Fund
“Sewing Herself Comforts” Sydnie L. Mosley Dances Presents: Spotlight in PURPLE: "Sewing Herself Comforts:
A Rah Productions Film
Directed By: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Executive Producer: Sydnie L. Mosley Dances
Produced by: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Director of Photography: Orion Gordon
Sound Supervisor: Orion Gordon
Edited by: Amil Cariño Charlemagne
Colorist: Jared Rosenthal
Producer: Ziiomi Law
Associate Producer: Shayla Diogene
Music: Song for Fela (Remix Version) - Instrumental by The KutiMangoes
Featuring: Brittany Anne Grier, Jacquiline Wright
With thanks to Spotlight In PURPLE funders:
Lincoln Center
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation - Humanities in Place
The MAP Fund
“Is this a healing or a jam session?” Sydnie L. Mosley Dances Presents: Spotlight in PURPLE: "Is this a healing or a jam session?"
A Rah Productions Film
Directed By: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Executive Producer: Sydnie L. Mosley Dances
Produced by: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Director of Photography: Orion Gordon
Sound Supervisor: Orion Gordon
Edited by: Amil Cariño Charlemagne
Colorist: Jared Rosenthal
Producer: Ziiomi Law
Associate Producer: Shayla Diogene
Music: Desert Moon by The KutiMangoes
Featuring: Tonia Hodgson, Zoraida Rivera, Mabel Wu, Blanca Padilla, Renée B. Hoffman, Christine Forkner, Carole Myers, Carina Roque, Ana Celia Velez, Yvette Williams, and Jacquiline Wright
With thanks to Spotlight In PURPLE funders:
Lincoln Center
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation - Humanities in Place
The MAP Fund
“You have to come with me to this place where magic is.” Sydnie L. Mosley Presents: Spotlight in PURPLE: “You have to come with me to this place where magic is.”
A Rah Productions Film
Directed By: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Executive Producer: Sydnie L. Mosley Dances
Produced by: Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl
Edited by: Orion Gordon
Colorist: Jared Rosenthal
Producer: Ziiomi Law
Associate Producer: Shayla Diogene
Music: Hail the Sun by Jo Blackenburg
Footage courtesy of Sydnie L. Mosley Dances’ Archives
LISTEN To Our Podcast This podcast is a narrative non-fiction series which follows our unique creative process and the creation of the world premiere of PURPLE: A Ritual In Nine Spells
We invite you to listen to this offering as a way to care for yourself today. Find a comfortable seat, grab a cup of something warm and delicious, inhale, exhale, and enjoy.
What does it mean to give yourself permission?
you have to come with me to this place where magic is Ntozake Shange Spell #7
Each SLMDances Creative Partner created handmade zines for loved ones and elders in our community. Photos below feature pages from each of us generating a collective zine for the digital space.
DISCOVER Our Zines The zine pages are filled with invitations:
a recipe to prepare, poems to indulge, affirmations to articulate.
Click to see each page.
image by Lorena Jaramillo
image by Lorena Jaramillo
image by Lorena Jaramillo
How are you caring for your community?
SHARE Your Reflections PURPLE is based in archives and stars, bodies and stories. We embody sankofa as we literally and figuratively honor and adorn our backspace while we craft our way forward into the cosmos.
Practice imagining with us: What is your vision for a radically joyful future?
#SLMDPURPLE #PURPLEvision
What is your #PURPLEvision?
MAY THE SPIRITS BLESS YOU Ntozake Shange Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo
Spotlight in PURPLE is made possible with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities in Place, The Map Fund, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Hi-ARTS, Barnard Center For Research on Women, and made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with City Council and administered by LMCC. LMCC serves, connects, and makes space for artists and community.
