At the heart of Clinard Dance’s mission is a belief that movement is more than performance—it is a language of empathy, resistance, and repair. Our work begins with relationships: between artists and communities, between histories of oppression and acts of resilience, between the body and the stories it holds. We use dance and music as a shared language that transcends the limits of words, offering new ways to engage with experiences of injustice, displacement, and belonging. In every project, from a small studio workshop to a large ensemble performance, we seek to create spaces where people can move together across differences—spaces that make visible the human connections obscured by systems of punishment, exclusion, and inequity.
Video credit: Erin Turney
What is the Carcelera Project? It is rooted in community, history and the idea that artists create change. “Carcelera” is a flamenco style of singing and dancing. Lyrics are related to and of prison and prisoners’ issues in Roma culture; the form is upwards of 500 years old and has continued to evolve through flamenco history. Listen here to an example of the historical form. The first creative seed came from meeting Hip Hop artist King Moosa through Illinois Prison Project’s Director of Education Renaldo Hudson. These relationships naturally aligned and were forged through Wendy Clinard’s personal work in chaplaincy. Through the Carcelera Project we have created five original dance and music compositions over the past 2 years. See a timeline below of our performances and partnerships:
-Summer 2022 in conjunction with Night Out In The Parks performed in Back Of The Yards Park, Sherwood Park/Englewood and part of El Paseo’s Harvest Festival. Partnered with Precious Blood Ministries.
- Summer 2023 in conjunction with Night Out In The Parks performed in Back Of The Yards Park, Sherwood Park/Englewood and Fosco Park/Pilsen. Partnered with Precious Blood Ministries and Heartland Alliance’s Fully Free Campaign (an effort to end perpetual punishment post incarceration).
- University of Chicago’s Arts and Public Life’s Greenline Performing Arts Center this November 2023. Click here to watch our talk back with artists moderated by Mike Allemana (guitarist and ethnomusicologist).
-Summer 2024 this project returns to Back Of The Yards, this time at Davis Park on Aug 10th in conjunction with Back Of The Yards Neighborhood Council’s Back to School event as well as Dvorak and Fosco Parks in Pilsen.
-Fall 2024 created an educational component to the Carcelera Project for k-12 public school settings.
-Performed in Nov 2024 and Oct 2025 Old Town School Of Folk Music as well as annually in March for the past three years at Space in Evanston.
Links: Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation, Chicago Park District: Night Out in the Parks, Arts and Public Life, Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments, Old Town School of Folk Music
Clip of a rehearsal session between King Moosa and Diego Alvarez
Click the link below to listen to King Moosa rap to bulerias.
Click here for a free virtual copy of our Carcelera Project zine, made by Sharah Hutson
Click the link below to learn more about King Moosa’s story, his work, and his affiliations with Clinard Dance.
