By Mylika Scatliffe,
AFRO Women’s Health Writer

The 84th Annual Conference of The National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts (NADSA)  selected Baltimore to play host city this year, with Coppin State University at the helm. 

The grounds of the Marriott Owings Mills Metro Centre in Owings Mills, Md. were chosen as the location for the conference, slated for April 6 and April 9. 

The conference marks the first in-person gathering of the annual conference since before the pandemic, with the last meeting taking place in April 2019. 

“Arts are the lifeblood that brings color to our existence,” said Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby, in his welcome statement on the conference website. “Acting, design, play production, oral interpretation and persuasive speaking strike at the very core of our culture- transforming the way we see the world and helping us find joy in the mundane and the magnificent.”

Founded in 1936, NADSA is the oldest national educational theatre organization in the United  States. Over 200 students from more than 30 HBCUs chose to participate in the 2022 conference, which comes with performances, workshops, and student competitions. 

Morgan State University, Prairie View A&M University and Grambling State University signed on for the conference, along with Texas Southern University, North Carolina Central University, Bethune Cookman University,  Delaware State University and many more. 

This year is the first time two Annual National Black Performing Arts Conferences chose to  simultaneously convene- with the HBCU Black Dance Conference (HBDC), a Black dance equivalent of NADSA, agreeing to join them in Baltimore in a joint venture. 

The Black Dance Conference is a collaboration between HBCUs, honoring traditions of Black dance as a culturally rich and groundbreaking art form. HBDC exists to: 

• Educate its members, patrons, and community-at-large in Black artistry. 

• Raise awareness of the creative artistry and complexity of Black Dance as a mental,  physical, and emotional ritual and restorative practice. 

• Recognize that Black Dance is not limited in its social-cultural identity. 

• Celebrate Black Dance as a way of being in the creative space. 

The British American Drama Academy (BADA) from London, England also chose to participate in residence this year. A Shakespeare performance workshop was scheduled to take place during the conference along with auditions for the BADA Summer Theatre program. 

For more information on this year’s NADSA conference or to donate, please visit the conference website at nadsaconference2022.com.

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