Performances
On the NIIC MainStage each year, we feature moving, spirit-lifting performances by diverse artists working in many genres – grassroots and nationally renowned talents alike. Meet the artists who will perform at NIIC 2022 here; more announcements are on the way!
MARK TAYAC AND THE PISCATAWAY NATION SINGERS & DANCERS
At the time of Columbus, as many as 10 million Native Americans lived in North America. A succession of Algonquian peoples ultimately coalesced into the Piscataway Nation of the Chesapeake & Tidewater regions of Maryland. The Piscataway were the first Native Americans to encounter Captain John Smith along the banks of the Potomac River in 1608. Today, Mark Tayac and the Piscataway Nation Singers & Dancers carry on the long standing traditions, culture and heritage of their indigenous ancestors. From Tayac Territory, (Port Tobacco, MD), Mark Tayac travels with the Piscataway Nation Singers & Dancers presenting a colorful, educational and entertaining pow wow-style campus event featuring American Indian Dance, Drum & Song. In addition to their many college campus appearances, the Piscataway Nation Singers & Dancers are frequent contributors to TV specials on the History Channel and Discovery Channel and appear regularly at the Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, national pow-wows and major festivals. Mark Tayac and the Piscataway Nation Singers & Dancers welcome the opportunity to educate and entertain audiences who want to learn more about American Indian history, culture and traditions.
Parijita Bastola, recently a semi finalist on NBC’s “The Voice” is the first of her family born in the United States. She had grown her love of performing by watching her dad set up shows for Nepali artists around the country. From a young age she loved to be around people and was very in touch with her culture. Parijita, who is 17-years-old and lives with her family in Maryland, sang with bands, She was class president and very involved with social issues! She always thought representation paved a beautiful path for change! Parijita loved to incorporate her Nepali clothings into her every day wear. She hopes to encourage all young people to dream as big as they can!
BATALÁ DC is part of an international Batalá family formed in Paris in 1997 by Giba Goncalves. Batalá began as the European wing of Cortejo Afro, an arts education project to help disadvantaged young people.The instruments and clothing are all manufactured in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil where the band has a social program that provides jobs for many poor families. From Paris, Batalá spread to other cities in France, Belgium, Spain, Africa, the United Kingdom, and back to its origins in Brazil. In 2007, Batalá came to Washington, DC, extending the reach of this infectious music for the first time to the United States. Today, there are six bands in the US, joining a total of over 30 Batalá bands worldwide. As part of our mission, Batalá Washington also operates a community outreach project to teach underserved youth throughout the DC
Metro Area samba-reggae rhythms and dance. Women over 21 years of age are welcome to join the band regardless of income, nationality, or musical experience. The result is a diverse community of women hailing from countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa – the ensemble is now more than 75-members-strong! Batalá DC has been nominated for a Washington Area Music Award and been recognized as “Best Local Band” by the Washington City Paper.
DJ REKHA née Rekha Malhotra, pioneered the merging of Bhangra and Bollywood sounds with contemporary electronic dance music. Rooted in hip-hop and dub, their DJ sets range from Brazilian Baile Funk to Balkan Beats and everything in between. They founded Basement Bhangra, one of NYC’s longest-running club nights (1997-2017) and their debut album “DJ Rekha Presents Basement Bhangra” (featuring a track with Wyclef Jean) won much critical acclaim and was nominated for Best DJ Album by the 2008 Plug Awards. The founder of Basement BhangraTM, Bollywood Disco, and co-founder of Mutiny Club nights, Rekha as named “Ambassador of Bhangra” by the New York Times. They were the sound designer for the TONY award-winning Broadway Show “Bridge and Tunnel,” received a Drama Desk Award nomination for their work on the play “Rafta Rafta,” and was the associate producer for the NPR Radio Documentary “A Feet in Two Worlds.” They have done remixes for artists that range from Meredeith Monk to Priyanka Chopra. A former A/P/A Artist-in-Residence at New York University (2006-2007), Rehka has received numerous community awards, was inducted into the New York City’s Peoples’ Hall of Fame (2009) and was a Grand Marshall of the 9th Annual NYC Dance Parade (2015). They have curated events including for Celebrate Brooklyn and Central Park Summerstage, and have performed internationally, at White House during President Obama’s years in office and at the historic Women’s March on DC (January 2017). Rekha holds a Master’s of Science in Comparative Media Studies from MIT.
DOMINIQUE CHRISTINA is an award-winning poet, author, educator, and activist. She holds five national poetry slam titles in four years, including the 2014 & 2012 Women of the World Slam Champion and 2011 National Poetry Slam Champion. Her work is greatly influenced by her family's legacy in the Civil Rights Movement and by the idea that words make worlds. Her fourth book, Anarcha Speaks won the National Poetry Series Prize.
LILO GONZALEZ is a singer and songwriter, whose fun and thoughtful music sends a message to people of all ages and cultures that we can and should unite to build a better world for everyone. A former grade school teacher from El Salvador, Lilo, or “Don Lilo” as his students use to call him, fell in love with the poetic lyrics of Joan Manuel Serrat and Facundo Cabral, at a time when social injustice became unbearable and erupted into a brutal civil war. As an undocumented immigrant in the United States, music became an oasis for Lilo, opening connections to different people who surprisingly had much in common with him. He discovered the music of Ruben Blades and Pete Seeger and was impressed with how their songs could change the way we think.
Lilo has won Billboard songwriting competition and OTI song festival awards along with five Washington Area Music Awards (WAMMIEs).
His first CD, “A QuienCorresponda” was released in 1994, with original songs that reflected the many transitions his life had undertaken; a children’s music CD that was a compilation of original and traditional songs followed in 2016. His performances include those on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, New York City’s Lincoln Center, President Clinton’s Inauguration, the Levine School of Music, the Festival Verdad in El Salvador, many festivals, conferences and universities across the country and internationally.
SOUL IN MOTION AFRICAN DANCE AND DRUMMERS has been performing for audiences across the region for almost 40 years. The acclaimed company first launched as the duet Soul In Motion Players, and made their debut performance at Howard University during Black History Month. The ensemble has evolved to a full time touring company of 11 dynamic artists from across the DMV region.
XING DANCE THEATER is an internationally awarded dance company based in Maryland, dedicated to movement research, creation, collaboration, cultural exchange, and education. Since its founding in 2018, XTD has been invited and selected to perform at festivals across the country and world, including Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, Washington DC Global Perspectives Festival, Beijing Dance Festival, Maryland Dance Festival, The Kennedy Center China Spring New Year Festival Gala,, Japan SAI International Dance Festival, Detroit City Dance Festival, City Dance Festival Choreography Showcase -Taiyuan, Seoul Choreography International Festival South Korea, Dance Gallery Festival New York City, Joy of Dance OY Finland International Dance Gala, Mexico City International Contemporary Dance Festival, Asian Contemporary Ballet Festival South Korea, Dance Place 2020 Season Washington DC, DC Choreography Dance Festival, Singapore International Dance Festival, SpectorDance’s Choreographers Showcase. Contemporary Dance Choreography Festival, NBA Washington Wizards Game Halftime guest performance, and Men in Dance Festival.
XDT Education provides training for all ages and abilities with custom cutting-edge, proprietary curriculum following XDT‘s professional company model with facilities in Tysons, VA, Rockville, MD, and College Park, MD. XDTE has hosted master classes and workshops across the U.S. and in China, Japan, South Korea, and Russia. Allen Chunhui Xing is a dancer, choreographer and teaching artist based in Maryland, and serves as XTD’s Artistic Director and XTD Education. He holds a BFA in Dance from Shanxi Academy of Arts, a M.Ed. from Salisbury University, and a MFA in Dance from University of Maryland. A former member of Huajin Dance Drama Ensemble in China, he performed in the production Forbidden Fruit Under the Great Wall which toured internationally (2007-2011), with PEARSONWIDRIG DANCETHEATER in Rapture (2015), and as a soloist in A Man’s Requiem by Korea Busan Metropolitan Dance Company (2018).
AMIR SAFI’s poetry is a blend of American culture and Iranian heritage that sheds light on the unique narrative of being Muslim in America, immigration, inter-sectional identity, and popular culture. He is a writer, a poet, and a masterful story-teller. Aside from nationally recognized performances, Amir also shares his gift through writing workshops. He is the co-founder of Mic Check 501(c)3, the Texas Grand Slam Poetry Festival and the founder of Write About Now. A 2017 Houston Poet Laureate Finalist, a 2013 and 2015 Southern Fried Poetry Slam Champion, a 2013 National Slam Poetry semi-finalist, his work has been featured by A plus, Upworthy, The Huffington Post, Whataburger, Total Frat Move and more. Most recently, his work has been published by Pittsburgh Poetry Review and Tincture Journal, and he has received recognition as a semi-finalist for the Crab Creek Review 2017 Poetry Prize as well as a finalist for the North American Review’s 2018 James Hearst Poetry Prize. Amir is College Station and based out of Houston, Texas, he is a graduate of Texas A&M University.
MARJAN NADERI, the 2020 D.C. Youth Poet Laureate, is an Afghan-American writer and educator based in Washington, D.C. As a 7-time Poetry Grand Slam Champion, Naderi has been featured on The Washington Post, NPR, The United Nation’s Girl Up Campaign, NBC News, Nike, and more. Her writing has been recognized by The Adroit Journal, Brave New Voices, The Split This Rock Poetry Database, and The National YoungArts Foundation where she was nominated for the U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts Award. Her first chapbook, Bloodline, was released in 2019.
As an educator, Naderi has facilitated writing workshops across the nation. She's taught Quranic Studies at The Afghan Academy and founded the Washington International Academy Library. She's currently working with international non-profits to build schools and libraries in Afghanistan and The Gambia. Her work is featured in curricula including Fairfax County Public Schools, Bryant University, The University of Virginia, and L.M.S. Voice.
Naderi, 20, now attends The University of Virginia. She's currently working on her next chapbook, a memoir to Afghanistan.
