Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, also referred to as BAAD!, is a New York performing and visual art workshop space and performance venue located in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Yo ...

. The Academy is home to the Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre and The Bronx Dance Coalition.

History

The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance was co-founded in 1998 by Arthur Aviles, dancer and choreographer who performed with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, and Charles Rice-Gonzalez, a writer, activist, and publicist. The Academy was first located in a community center before renting space in the historic American Bank Note Company Printing Plant in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris. In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was ...

and was home to the Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre, a contemporary dance company focusing on works exploring the margins of Latino and LGBTQ cultures. The programs at BAAD! were made up of dancers, LGBTQ visual artists, women, and artists of color. Artists began presenting work in the space and hosting annual arts festivals such as ''BAAD! Ass Women'', ''Out Like That!'', ''The BlakTino Performance Series'', ''The Boogie Down Dance Series'', and the holiday play ''Los Nutcrackers: A Christmas Carajo''. In 2010 a film event series, titled ''Get Tough! Get BAAD!'' focusing on gay-bashings in New York City, was added. ''Out Like That!'' is the Bronx's only festival celebrating works by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender artists. In 2002 the Bronx Dance Coalition, which supports professional Bronx dance and published the ''Bronx Dance Magazine'', was formed at the Academy. Later the Muse/Artist in Residency Project was started. After 14 years in the Bank Note Building, the Academy was forced to leave due to increasing rent. In October 2013, the Academy relocated to a gothic revivalist chapel in the cemetery on the grounds of the historic St. Peter's Episcopal Church in

Westchester Square Westchester Square is a residential neighborhood geographically located in the eastern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: East Tremont Avenue and Silver Street, Blon ...

. The chapel that houses the Academy was made a

New York City Landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

in 1976 and was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1998. In 2017 they were one of 12 grantees to receive a grant from the Lincoln Center Cultural Innovation Fund and the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carne ...

in order to "increase arts access and participation in the diverse neighborhoods of the

and Central Brooklyn. The 60K grant will be used for the Transvisionaries:Live Performance Series, a monthly free performance series featuring trans and gender non-conforming artists or color, hosted at local cafes in the South Bronx. The goal being to increase access to performance outside the theater while bringing visibility to trans people.

References

{{Coord, 40, 50, 18, N, 73, 50, 40, W, display=title 1998 establishments in New York City African-American arts organizations Art museums and galleries in the Bronx Arts organizations based in New York City Arts organizations established in 1998 Caribbean-American culture in New York City Contemporary dance Culture of the Bronx Dance festivals in the United States Dance in New York City Hispanic and Latino American organizations Hispanic and Latino American culture in New York City Leopold Eidlitz buildings LGBT arts organizations LGBT Hispanic and Latino American culture Music venues in the Bronx Performing arts centers in New York City Theatres in the Bronx Westchester Square, Bronx