On Saturday, July 11, we were forced to cancel the rest of Celebrate Mantua 2026, due to extensive damage from the severe storms that rolled through West and South Philly.
After enjoying a beautiful morning of free community dance classes, we called what we thought would be a brief rain delay for an impending storm. Instead, our tents had blown into nearby power lines. The marley floor for our dancers was waterlogged and unsalvageable. Equipment was destroyed. Even a proclamation we received from the city was soaked through, the citation blurred, ink running to the edges of the paper.
There was no way to continue the festival. We had to call all our youth companies, professional performers, and drill teams to give them the bad news.
We do not yet know the full extent of the financial damage we are facing as an organization. In the weeks to come, there will be phone calls with insurance companies, discussions of park permits, applications for disaster relief…
We do know whatever we can recover will not cover our losses in full.
That’s why we're asking you to make a donation to DANCE IQUAIL today to help us recover from these losses.
Click below to make a tax-deductible donation in support of the company and future dance festivals.
I am exceedingly grateful to all of you, for supporting this dream of a West Philly dance festival — a celebration of Blackness and community.I need to also thank all the amazing artists, community partners, audiences, partners, vendors, volunteers, Philadelphia, Parks and Recreation, photographers, videographers, and our full team of staff, artists, consultants, contractors, and crews for such an amazing job on Celebrate Mantua.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the residents of THE BOTTOM (aka Mantua). We will weather this storm, in large part because we know the light and joy in community.
