Interview by:
Danielle Sevier
Produced by:
Mike Persico
“Gibney Company, led by Artistic Director Gina Gibney and Director Gilbert T Small II, showcases captivating dance works by renowned and emerging international
choreographers. They explore the fusion of contemporary dance’s physicality with humanistic storytelling, emphasizing artistic excellence and social integrity.”
DS: Hi, I’m here with Gilbert T. Small II, the Gibney company director. Hi, Gilbert.
GTSII: Hi there.
DS: Thank you for being here with us today.
GTSII: Of course, my pleasure.
DS: So, I was hoping you could tell us a little bit about Gibney, how you got involved and what you do here.
GTSII: Oh, thank you. I’m Gibney company’s director, and I originally became involved with Gibney in the education department, and I was a curatorial director of training, which means I revamped the open studio classes. And I did that remotely from Seattle. And then in 2021, I moved to New York to take over as rehearsal director and curatorial director of training. I did that until January of 2022 when I became Gibney company director.
DS: Nice. Congratulations!
GTSII: Thank you.
DS: And what is Gibney for those of us who do not know.
GTSII: Gibney is a mega house, I call it. It has a community action department, an education department, and a company inside of its one umbrella. All of the departments are working towards their own goals, but with including the mission of the
entire organization, which is social justice, responding to inequities in the community. And the dance company has fellowship programs that are kind of pulled from the community action work. And also, the education department does workshops, which also pulls from that.
DS: So, I understand Gibney’s mission is to bring together communities and promote social justice as well as preventing and moving beyond violence.
GTSII: Yes.
DS: Can you tell us more about that and how they go about doing that?
GTSII: Yes. Well, one of our programs is “Moved to Move Beyond”, and it is an evidence-based program that uses movement workshops to help survivors of gender-based violence in their families. And so, they go into community centers, and they guide folks through movement practices that are centered towards healing. And another program that we have is “Hands Are For Holding” which is a youth centered program, which is when our community actionists go into schools and they use choreography to help teach young adults, young children about healthy relationships. And all of that work is also filtered into the way that we work within the studio and the company as well. So healthy relationships, asking for permission before touching someone, being clear about boundary setting and respecting boundaries. So, it’s something that’s really in the ethos of Gibney and is used beyond just outside of the walls inside of those workshops, but in the way that we are with each other, even in the office. It’s a practice of our every day.
DS: I love that. That’s amazing. And thank you for working here and supporting that. And anyone who would like to donate to such a noble cause, they can do so by viewing the site below. Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with me.
GTSII: Thank you, Danielle!
DS: You’re welcome.
Donate & Gibney by visiting their website at gibneydance.org.
Watch The Full Video Here: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8JSBU2r/
