Header image left to right: Alfredo Hurtado, NCDNCR Secretary Pamela Brewington Cashwell, NCDMVA Secretary Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette, Michelle Pearson, and Jeff Bell. Photo by Andie Freeman, courtesy of NC Arts Council.
On May 13, in recognition of Military Appreciation Month and in alignment with the second day of ARTS Day, the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) and the NC Department of Military and Veterans Affairs co-hosted a special screening of the documentary We Lift Each Other at the DNCR auditorium. Directed by Lou Pepe and Keith Fulton, the film highlights Raleigh-based Black Box Dance Theatre’s work with veterans and the healing effects of dance.
We Lift Each Other is part of the anthology I Feel Myself to be Part of Something, launched by the Tony Award–winning producer Mara Isaacs through the Arts Impact Initiative. The anthology features five stories from across the nation that demonstrate how the arts catalyze connection, healing, and civic engagement. Through the film, audiences witness the powerful impact of Black Box Dance Theatre’s long-term work with active-duty service members, veterans, and participants in a Veterans Treatment Court program. As the Arts Impact Initiative website notes, “Working primarily with active-duty military and their families, veterans, and people coping with PTSD—demographics often overlooked by the civilian population—this dance company harnesses the simple but transformative power of group movement to create a space for collective expression and the healing of trauma.”
DNCR Secretary Pamela Brewington Cashwell and NCDMVA Secretary Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette each addressed the audience before the screening, emphasizing the importance of the project. Black Box Dance Theatre founder and Artistic Director Michelle Pearson and the company’s Partnerships/Military Liaison Alfredo Hurtado led a post-screening discussion about the film with Stephen Henderson of Brothers and Sisters Like These, a veterans’ writing group.
Several notable guests also attended, including North Carolina Representative Abe Jones; Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts Executive Director Kevin Bitterman; the Joel Fund Executive Director Brooke Dickhart; NC Arts Council Executive Director Jeff Bell and Deputy Director Vicki Vitiello, former NC Arts Council Executive Director Mary Regan; and former NC Arts Council Deputy Director Nancy Trovillion.