Photos by Rush Varela
October 2021 – Gather Together, Heidi Duckler Dance’s 36th Anniversary Celebration, was an unforgettable night filled with dance and music in the garden at the historic Wilfandel Club.
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Finding a place of your own for cultural, educational, and social activities.
This was the motivation for upwardly mobile African American women in Los Angeles in the 1940’s as they organized a clubhouse. There was no place for them to meet. Mrs. Fannie Williams, an outstanding entrepreneur and recognized community leader, and Mrs. Della Williams a philanthropist and wife of of Paul Revere Williams, the noted Los Angeles Architect, shared the vision to organize and provide a venue and meeting place for the community.
The Wilfandel Club is Los Angeles personified. It sits at the heart of a very particular experience in L.A and as Heidi Duckler has done for years, she wanted to shine a light on what is right in front of you, what is part of the history of Los Angeles.
Zahirah Mann, President & CEO, SLATE-Z, and Avis Ridley-Thomas, Executive Director, Institute of Nonviolence in Los Angeles, were the night’s honorees for the significant impact they’ve made on Los Angeles throughout their outstanding careers.
The night included live music, live performances by HDD and our students from Saint Mary’s Academy, and a screening of our film Lost & Found.
