BBB Westchester Cultural Crossroads Diplomacy Conference
August 7 2026 6pm - 8pm
Featherston Auditorium Rm 120
Life Science Building
Loyola Marymount University
1 LMU Drive, Los Angeles, CA
Parking for Life Science Building is at Lot D. Parking fees enforced until 8PM on the campus. The only visitor campus entrance is at LMU Drive off Lincoln Blvd
LMU Parking Map HERE
Join us for a lively conversation on arts and the art of diplomacy from Cuba, China, Pakistan and current BBB diplomatic ventures.
Our guests include Lizt Alfonso from Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba and the current status of dance in Cuba; Suhan Chen and Amare Swierc on China and cultural exchange; Farah Yasmeen Sheik on Pakistan; and BBB President Charlene Carey on the latest BBB international projects.
Entrepreneurial, persevering and charismatic, Lizt Alfonso had a clear dream when she was a little girl: founding her own dance company and taking it worldwide. That dream became a reality when, at the age of 23, she founded Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba (LADC) in 1991 resident company at the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso, that has become one of the most popular and prestigious in the dance and musical world for its novel style: a fusion never seen before. Multi awarded for her choreographic creations and recognized for her artistry, tenacity, simplicity and professionalism, Lizt Alfonso began in the arts world at the age of four, when she received her first ballet class. From then on, her training took place at the Cuban National Ballet School and Spanish dance academies, schools of Dance Theater, folklore and others, until she graduated in Theater and Drama at the Havana’s University of the Arts (ISA) in 1990. She has conceived, choreographed and directed all the shows staged by LADC. Under her guidance, LADC has performed in hundreds of stages around the world, participating in the most important dance festivals, regular dance series, as well as in commercial theaters. Her vision and perseverance took LADC to be the first Cuban dance company to have seasons of performances in New York City, at the New Victory Theater. She was specially invited to explain her creative process and mise-en-scéne of her work at the Work and Process series in New York's Guggenheim Museum and took LADC to the Fall for Dance Festival in the New York City Center and the Luminato Festival in Toronto, among many others. he has been granted with several recognitions worldwide: BBC’s list of the 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world in 2018; International Spotlight Award by the USA President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, granted at the White House, by the First Lady, Michelle Obama, in 2016; The National Culture Order of Cuba; Ambassador of the Cuban Artist Fund of New York; the Canada’s Dora Mavor Moore Award in the category of Best Choreography of a Musical for her show “Vida” in 2008; the First Choreography Prize by the Cuban Artists and Writers Association in 2006 and 2008 and the Cuban Artist Fund of New York Award in 2001, among many other.
Farah Yasmeen Shaikh is an internationally acclaimed Kathak performer, choreographer and instructor, and Founder & Artistic Director of Noorani Dance. As a performer, Farah is known for her evocative storytelling, technical precision, delicacy and grace, with two decades of training from the late Pandit Chitresh Das. She has gone on to develop a unique artistic voice, often addressing topics of historical and social relevance, while also maintaining the classical elements of Kathak. Farah performs her own traditional and innovative works, most notably, The Forgotten Empress - based on the life of 17th Century Mughal Empress Noor Jahan, and The Partition Project — based on the 1947 India-Pakistan Partition and Nazaakat aur Taaqat - Delicate Power. A TEDx speaker, and host of her own podcast, Heartistry Talk Show, Farah has received support and recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts, Walter & Elise Haas Fund, New England Foundation for the Arts, Zellerbach Family Foundation, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, California Arts Council, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, SVCreates and Dancers’ Group.
Dr. Suhan Chen is the Executive Director of the Glacier Academy for International Youth Culture and Education Exchange (Glacier Academy International) and producer of the Chinese Mermaid project. She, and Amare Swierc, a leading Duke University student and the lead dancer/singer in the production “Chinese Mermaid” will present a talk on cultural exchange at Ballet Beyond Borders LA 2026.
Together, they will share the special journey behind Chinese Mermaid and their recent project The Forbidden City Cats, highlighting how theater, language, and the arts can serve as a powerful and dynamic channel to bring people from different cultures together — not only to connect, but also to create, collaborate, and grow together.
Amare Swierc, a Duke University undergraduate (‘27), from Missoula, Montana. She is a double major in International Comparative Studies and Dance, with a minor in Journalism and Media. She is a lifelong contemporary and ballet dancer and choreographer, starting at Rocky Mountain Ballet Theater and studying in studios around the world. Beyond dance, Amare has worked and researched internationally in outreach and communications for human rights, such as with the Civil Liberties Union for Europe. She is passionate about blending international relations and cultural connectivity through the arts for both conflict resolution and international diplomacy. Through her work in communications and arts, she aspires to use artistic cultural diplomacy to build cultural bridges and foster discourse.
Vesna Grobvic holds a BFA from the University of Illinois School of Architecture, an MFA from the University of Chicago in Visual Art and is a graduate of the Harvard School of Education’s Management Development Program. With a strong background in the arts, Ms. Grobvic is an experienced professional with a record of effective governance, management and leadership of complex institutions in Higher Learning and business. Vesna will be the BBB Diplomacy Conference’s moderator.
THE HIDDEN TEARS PROJECT , with Choreographer & Filmmaker Jordan Marinov
Moderator - Julie Sirrs
Live Performance from Jordan Marinov
Short Film Presentation and stories from the Hidden Tears project
Panel Discussion - Jordan Marinov with Clarissa Charlie and Kya Rae Dede Rose
Exhibit - The Red Dress Display : Commemorating and honoring the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls
Performance - The Sound of Healing : Jingle Dress Dance - Kya & Clara
10:00 - 10:10AM Peace-building Performance from the Unison Dance School, Israel.
Introduction by Dana Blecher, Director of Cultural Affairs, the Consulate General of Israel. Director Moran Barak, Dancers Leann Reizer and Elinor Ostrovsky
10:10 - 11:00AM THERE IS ROOM FOR EVERYONE - Sophie Rebecca from the United Kingdom. Presentation and discussion about the new generation of dancers that are challenging Ballets rigid gender norms. Moderated by Dr. Karin Opacich,
11:00 - 11:15AM - Contemporary Performances from BBB Competitors from Dance City - Marika Derton , Director (VENICE ITALY), Radu Domsa & Alina Ciceo (CLUJ, ROMANIA), Dancers & Director, Dani Orlo, Escuela de Cubana (VERACRUZ , MEXICO), Damon Berry, Kasper the Saint and Phoenix Bunuellos, (LOS ANGELES, USA).
11:15- 11:30AM - CHINA & MONTANA - OUR CULTURAL BRIDGE TO THE FUTURE
Confucius Institute Director Suhan Chen with Charlene Campbell Carey
Chinese Folk Dance Performance by Angela Wan student of Ming Yan Cui, Chinese Song by Tony Woodward, student at Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre and Peking Opera performance by Nathaniel Puttonen student from the Chan Hon Goh Academy in Vancouver, Canada.