Navigating the professional and post-college dance space in Dallas can be tricky for most, but Agora Artists is working to change that.“How do we get all of these different members of the dance community, who seem to be, kind of like siloed from each other? If we all got in the same room, what could happen and in what ways could we support each other?” asks Avery-Jai Andrews, one of the founders of Agora Artists.
Andrews kept pushing to find that community in Dallas, discussing ideas with her longtime friend Lauren Kravitz, who lived in New York City at the time. “It was the time of George Floyd and protest, so lots of conversation around racial equity, connection and isolation," Andrews says."It was us, as a group of friends, who got together. And these were the ideas that were super relevant and we were exploring in our lives.”
“We started developing these different characters that lived inside the building," Kravitz says. "We started exploring our lives behind closed doors and our lives in more public spaces, and how those intertwine, [and] how our private lives influence the ways in which we engage with our community around us.
“I think it's nice to look back on different living situations you’ve had [and] different people you’ve shared space and community with,” says Kravitz.