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Urban Bush Women are a Brooklyn based performance ensemble that aims to use dance as a medium for their message. 40 decades ago, they were founded by 4 Black Women and to celebrate their 40th anniversary they're having a weeklong residency at Lincoln Center. We'll be joined by Pia Monique Murray, an associate producer of the 40th anniversary events.*Kousha Navidar Guest-Hosts*
This week Jeremy and Reid are discussing Urban Bush Women, Wayne McGregor and beans. Other topics include the degradation of the government, Cat hair and mushroom pate. Little Island Eyewitness ◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠ ➩ WEBSITE ◦ YOUTUBE ◦ INSTAGRAM ➩ SUPPORT ◦ ✨VIA VENMO!✨ ◦ PATREON ◦ THE MERCH ➩ REID ◦ JEREMY ◦ JACK ◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠◠ ➩ withdanceandstuff@gmail.com
Jordyn Davis, a multi-talented bassist, composer, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Detroit, MI, is the first African-American woman to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Music Composition from Michigan State University. She also earned a Master's in Jazz Studies from the same university. In 2021, after moving to Brooklyn, NY, she was honored as one of the inaugural Jazz Leader Fellowship recipients by the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. Recently, she has worked on the Tony-Winning Broadway Musical “New York, New York: A new musical and had a residency at Brown University collaborating with Craig Harris & the contemporary dance company Urban Bush Women. We talk about her journey into bass, studies with Rodney Whittaker, life in New York City, and much more. Enjoy, and be sure to follow along with her work on her website, Facebook, and Instagram! Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically! Connect with us: all things double bass double bass merch double bass sheet music Thank you to our sponsor! Dorico - This podcast episode is sponsored by Dorico: the next-generation music notation software from Steinberg, that's packed with smart, time-saving features to help you spend less time in front of your computer and more time doing what you love: making music. The latest version of Dorico 5, includes Iconica Sketch, a new orchestral sound library, bringing more expressive playback, and making it easy to produce more life-like performances with a dynamic stereo soundstage. Try Dorico Now For 60 Days For Free: visit dorico.com theme music by Eric Hochberg
“Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey In this episode of “Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey, join host Joanne Carey as she chats with Special Guest: Alex Smith Jr. Executive Chairman of Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center. Listen in as we sit down and talk about Alex's unexpected and fascinating journey that lead him to where he is today. A Visual Artist, Graphic Designer, Caretaker and Executive Chairman and a man with an open heart to where he is lead- we are celebrating this man and all he is doing in the community and for the performing arts! THPAC's Black History Month FREE program Saturday, February 24, 4 p.m. Alex Smith Jr. was born in Montgomery, AL. His parents, both veterans of the Montgomery bus boycott, migrated to Brooklyn, NY when he was 3 years old. He has resided in Brooklyn ever since that time. Smith is the Executive Chairman of Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center (THPAC). This association began in 1988, when it's then executive director, Melvin Davis hired Smith to assist in re-branding the image of THPAC. It turned into a long term business relationship with THPAC which continued until the untimely death of Melvin Davis in May of 1995. At this point Smith was asked by the THPAC board to consider becoming the executive director. He accepted the position along with choreographer Marshall Swiney, who became artistic director of THPAC. Under Smith's continuing tenure at THPAC as Executive Chairman, over 300 artists have been presented in performance including: Ron Brown, Camille Brown, George Faison, Louis Johnson, Marlies Yearby, Fred Benjamin, Urban Bush Women, Dance Theater of Harlem and Philadanco, among many others; seven new programming formats have been added; THPAC's Life Time Achievement Awards were established; new relationships with performance venues at Long Island University and the Actors Fund Arts Center were formed; a development dept. for THPAC was established; new in-house works for THPAC entitled Audre Lorde In Motion, Ramp to Paradise and The Gospel According to THPAC were produced; the administrative staff and THPAC boards were restructured; the relocation of THPAC's headquarters was accomplished. Smith is spearheading the production of a documentary on THPAC's 42 years on the dance scene as well as laying out a digital archival structure for THPAC in association with the NYPL at Lincoln Center. On October 18, 2016 Smith was the recipient of the Bessie Award for outstanding service to the field of dance. Smith is a Brooklyn College graduate with advance graphics design/photography studies from the School of Visual Arts. He is a graphics designer and a visual fine artist. Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center (THPAC), the oldest presenting organization in Brooklyn, and Central Baptist Church of NYC will present its FREE Black History Month program on Saturday, February 24, 4 p.m. for the community celebrating Black contributions through music, dance and spoken word in observance with Black History Month. The performance features three bible-themed works by choreographer Walter Rutledge, featuring dancers Amina Konate and Tevin Johnson and narration by James Earl Jones. THPAC and Central Baptist Church of NYC are committed to the remembrance of Black history and to uplifting of African Americans. By reaching back through this program, we can envision and grasp a healing future for our community and all of humanity. Audiences, the church congregation and larger community will experience a performance about faith, perseverance and the collective strength communities have when joined together. Find out more https://www.thelmahill.org/ Follow Joanne Carey on Instagram @westfieldschoolofdance And follow “Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey wherever you listen to your podcasts. Tune in. Follow. Like us. And Share. Please leave us review about our podcast “Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey "Where the Dance World Connects, the Conversations Inspire, and Where We Are Keeping Them Real."
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Here are some takeaways from the conversation I had with Shaness Kemp who happens to be a performing artist, choreographer, and dance educator. The first takeaway is you need time to replenish. Now this looks different for all of us but it's important to replenish so you can continue to pour out as an artist. Next, versatility is the key to flexibility. If you are versatile it's easier to be flexible and follow the road that unfolds in front of you. And third, that once you let go of the fear of not understanding, or looking silly, or being uncomfortable you will realize how much you can actually do. Shaness D. Kemp Kemp is a native of Nassau, Bahamas and holds both a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master's of Fine Arts degree from Temple University. She is an Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and continues to work as a freelance dancer, choreographer and dance educator. As Master Teacher of the Umfundalai technique, she has taught at various institutions, festivals and intensives, both nationally and internationally. Kemp has trained and performed with several notable artists and professional dance companies, including Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Kariamu & Company: Traditions, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, Eleone Dance Theatre, Philadanco! The Philadelphia Dance Company, Urban Bush Women, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Rennie Harris Puremovement, The Katherine Dunham Seminar and The American Dance Festival to name a few. Most recently, she has appeared as a guest performing artist with Tabanka African and Caribbean Peoples Dance Ensemble in Oslo, Norway. Tabanka is Northern Europe's largest all black dance ensemble. Her work has been presented nationally and internationally. Get in touch: Shaness Kemp Instagram: @shaness_d Ayana Major Bey Website: www.ayanabey.com Instagram: @ayanambey, @theartistpivot Monthly Newsletter: https://www.ayanabey.com/podcast Show Sponsor: Get 10% off your first month with BetterHelp at https://betterhelp.com/artistpivot ******* Host & Exec. Producer: Ayana Major Bey Editor: Kieran Niemand Part of the Boundless Audio Network
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Yasi and Steven explore college dance education at one of the largest performing arts programs in the country, the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Specifically, we talk about adapting to a rapidly evolving post-COVID educational environment, the effects of the Michigan State University shooting on students and faculty, integrating Black activism into one's artistic journey, the effects of competition dance on college dance education, and mental health.Our guests on this exploration are Jillian Hopper, assistant professor of dance at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and Brooke Taylor, senior dance major at SMTD and founder of Black Scholars in Dance. For more about University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, go to https://smtd.umich.edu/For Brooke Taylor's dance reel, go to youtu.be/wUAZJUmmHBQFor more information on Jillian's Dance Legacy Project at the University of Michigan, go to https://smtd.umich.edu/the-dance-legacy-project/Brooke's Instagram is @brooke.alexandria.taylor Jillian's instagram is @hopperjillianFor more about Athletes and the Arts or to find resources, go to http://athletesandthearts.com/Bios:Jillian Hopper: Jillian Hopper is an assistant professor of dance at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance and is the Artistic Director of The Dance Legacy Project at Michigan alongside creative partner Prof. Christian Matijas-Mecca. She specializes in the dance technique of Doris Humphrey with the aim of preserving the technique for future generations as a Trustee of the Doris Humphrey Foundation, UK (England). Hopper also focuses her physical practice on methods of embodiment for the purpose of increasing empathy and sensitivity in practice and performance. These skills have assisted Hopper as a director of the DLP and within her own choreography. Her latest project Mirror Ritual: a chamber ballet in three tableaus premiered on Feb 2, 2023, at the Power Center for Performing Arts in Ann Arbor, MI, and is a collaboration with composer Griffin Candey. She has taught professionally for Hillsdale College, Eastern Michigan University, Middlesex University (London, UK) The Place (London, UK), and Northern School of Contemporary Dance (Leeds, UK). As rehearsal director for U-M, Hopper has had the pleasure of rehearsing guest works by Ohad Naharin, Richard Alston, Lucinda Childs, Urban Bush Women, Alessio Silvestrin, and Shannon Gillen (Vim Vigor) among others. Hopper received her BA (Hons) choreography from Middlesex University London, UK (2007) and her MFA Dance Performance from the University of Michigan (2012). She is on the board of directors for ConteXture Dance Detroit. In her own work, Hopper explores ritualistic movement concepts with an emphasis on nature's powerful spirituality. She has performed in works by Doris Humphrey, Peter Sparling, Monica Bill Barnes, Sidra Bell, Danny T. Reid, Tracy Halloran, and many of her own compositions throughout the Midwest and Europe.Brooke Taylor: Brooke Taylor is a senior at the University of Michigan pursuing Dance and a minor in Education for Empowerment. As a 17 year trained dancer in ballet, modern, tap, and jazz, her passion is the intersection of art and activism. This new found passion has led Taylor in creating work that
If you grew up in 90's you probably know what it meant to be “sweatin” somebody. It's something like liking someone, and doing all sorts of things to make sure they know you like them. You are after them. And you might do a little too much to make sure they notice you. What if you were just as committed, just as passionate, willing to go just as far, when it comes to sweatin' your truth? I imagine your body would move in all sorts of ways. I figure you would get in tune with others around you. I know you would not hide. You would let us see what you are finding, because you would know that we would find ourselves in it too. Here I'm sharing a beautiful interview with Maria Bauman, Artistic Director of MBDance. Her bio starts with the words: “Muscles. Beads of sweat. Exertion. Inversion. Carving out selfhood.” She is “a woman dancer, a person of color, a southern not-quite-belle who grew up poor, and a queer person.” Her “choreography for MBDance is based on physical and emotional power, desire for equity, and fascination with intimacy” She asserts that “the popular notion of a ‘neutral body,' often described in contemporary dance classes, does not exist in her experience.” Instead she creates “from storied bodies, mythological bodies, bodies-in-creation, and bodies-as-manifestos.” In the previous episode of the podcast I invited you into a conversation with the great Jawole Zollar, founder of Urban Bush Women. Here I am inviting you into a conversation with one of her mentees. I met Maria while working with UBW and I have not met too many other people who are such kindred spirits. We go about our work in very different ways. But there is spiritual alignment, a commitment to the body, a passion for culture and a promise to community that makes me feel like Maria and I are here serving the same force, aiming to fulfill a similar purpose. I encourage you to listen with care and to let yourself be inspired. I invite you to get after your truth with all of your spirit and to dance in such a way that the truth sweats out of you. Enjoy!
Whether you refer to it as "sunsetting" or "supernova'ing," what's true is that there are few resources to guide those wanting to intentionally shutdown an organization's operations. While a multitude of resources exist dedicated to starting and scaling ventures, the same can't be said when one finds themself on the other end of the organizational life cycle. In this episode, host Tim Cynova connects with guests who were tasked with leading companies through this final phase. We'll hear how they came to the decision, how they approached the work, and what resonates for them as they reflect on it all.This episode include two conversations. The first is with Michelle Preston and Megan Carter who helped lead the transition at SITI Company. The second is with Jamie Bennett who helped lead the transition at ArtPlace America. In all of this, we consider how centering values when closing a company can help us even when we're not.MEGAN E. CARTER is a creative producer, strategy consultant, and dramaturg with a track record of sustained success in theatre, interdisciplinary performing arts and live events. Most recently, she led SITI Company, an award-winning theater ensemble, through a comprehensive legacy plan, archive process, and finale season. She is currently a creative consultant with A TODO DAR Productions on rasgos asiaticos, a performance installation by Virginia Grise and Tanya Orellana exploring migration, borders, and family. Megan has developed and produced new and classic works Off-Broadway, as well as internationally at theatres, venues, and festivals like The Fisher Center at Bard, BAM, City Theatre in Pittsburgh, Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA), REDCAT (LA), Teatr Studio (Warsaw), Wuzhen Theatre Festival (Wuzhen, China), Under the Radar Festival, the Huntington Gardens (LA, site-specific), International Divine Comedy Theatre Festival at Małopolska Garden of Arts in (Krakow), the Walt Disney Modular Theater (LA), Classic Stage Company, Cherry Lane Theatre, WP Theater, the World Financial Center (site-specific). At WP Theater, she led the Lab for Directors, Playwrights, and Producers and managed new play development and commissions. Megan served as dramaturg on the American Premiere of Jackie by Elfriede Jelinek and has edited the English translations of a number of Jelinek's plays, including Rechnitz and The Charges (The Supplicants). She has also edited the SITI Company anthology – SITI COMPANY: THIS IS NOT A HANDBOOK, coming out in 2023. Megan has been on faculty at the Brooklyn College, SITI Company Conservatory and California Institute of the Arts. She is currently on faculty at Primary Stages' Einhorn School for the Performing Arts (ESPA). Education: MFA in Dramaturgy, Brooklyn College/CUNY; BA in Theatre, Centenary College of Louisiana.MICHELLE PRESTON began her career in arts administration at the Columbus Symphony Orchestra before coming to New York City where she has worked with Urban Bush Women, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the School of American Ballet. She began at SITI Company in 2012 as the Deputy Director and served as Executive Director from 2014-2022. While at SITI, Michelle produced 9 world premieres, 17 domestic and international tours, and 5 New York City seasons. She also led the multi-year strategic planning process that resulted in the SITI Legacy Plan, a comprehensive set of activities meant to celebrate the accomplishments and preserve the legacy of the ensemble before the organized and intentional sunset at the end of 2022. She is currently the Executive Director of the José Limón Dance Foundation. She holds an M.F.A. in Performing Arts Management from Brooklyn College and a B.F.A. in...
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar is the founder of the legendary ensemble Urban Bush Women. She is also a winner of the MacArthur Genius Award. I met Jawole at a Creative Change Retreat, an intersection of artists and activists that used to be held at the Sundance Resort, in Provo, Utah. One of my favorite gatherings to facilitate. I was immediately moved by Jawole's presence, and I could sense how she was tuning into a deeper energy in my facilitation. We started to get to know each other and quickly learned that not only do we share values and aspirations for a more embodied and generative approach to change. But we also share a powerful spiritual alignment. This allowed Jawole to trust me to do organizational development work with Urban Bush Women. An honor and an experience that I continue to relish. “Jawole is a choreographer and dance entrepreneur who has forged a style of dance-making and artistic leadership that tethers dance to cultural identity, civic engagement, community organizing, and imperatives of social justice… she has created a sustainable movement and organization that centers the perspectives of Black women.” I was thrilled that Jawole accepted my invitation to the podcast. Our conversation ranges from her early life, the cultural influences that define her work, her ongoing spiritual commitments and some of the latest work that is moving through her genius. Enjoy our conversation.
"Hair & Other Stories" is a dance-theater work by Urban Bush Women that reflects on race, identity, and ideas of beauty through the lens of Black women's hair. Using movement, song, and conversation, it explores what constitutes freedom, liberation, and release in our everyday struggles to rise to our Extra-ordinary Selves in extraordinary times. WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham spoke to Urban Bush Women's Artistic Director Chanon Judson about "Hair & Other Stories," how the company hopes to help young women find power through dance, and her work in jazz at the University of Buffalo. "Hair & Other Stories" takes place at the PNC Theater September 9th and 10th. For more information and tickets, https://playhouse.pointpark.edu/tickets/Playhouse-Presents-The-Artists-Series/urban-bush-women
Greetings Glocal Citizens! This week's episode is home grown in a sense as I had the chance to chat with long-time friend and collaborator, Farai Malianga. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Farai's journey to the US found him at the University in Colorado in Boulder where our stories connect. He is a Videographer, Composer, and Musician who began his career in African Dance in Colorado with Leticia Williams' Harambee and Musical Director Judy “Fatu” Henderson. He later relocated to New York where he began studying dance and drum with pioneers Yousouf Koumbasa, Mbemba Bangoura and Ronald K. Brown. He has performed with creative Masters such as Chuck Davis in BAMs ‘Dance Africa', Reginald Yates and Heritage O.P. for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre's their 40th Anniversary season; with musicians such as Roy Ayers, Wunmi Olaiya,, Manchild Black, and Akua Allrich to name a few. He has also performed on and off broadway in the musical 'Fela!' and “Darker Faces of the Earth” directed by Trezana Beverley, respectively. As a videographer, most recent projects include editing the archival documentary for “Kumbuka” the longest active New Orleans-based West African Dance troupe. This fall he joins Florida State University as a tenure track Professor with a focus on music for dance and choreography. He will be teaching Rhythmic Analysis, Music for Choreography, and Digital Audio Recording while also providing music support for African, Dunham and Contemporary classes. We definitely have something to look forward to seeing Farai's work flourish on a whole new level in this role! Where to find Farai? On LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/farai-malianga-21b13351/) On Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/maliangafaraim/) On Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/farai.malianga) On Twitter (https://twitter.com/fmmalianga) On YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/PLFMM) What's Farai reading? Octavia E. Butler (https://www.octaviabutler.com) What's Farai listening to? Kendrick Lamar (https://oklama.com) J. Cole (https://www.dreamville.com) Pharoahe Monch (https://www.pharoahe.com) Other topics of interest: Regional Dance America (https://regionaldanceamerica.org) Ronald K. Brown (https://www.evidencedance.com) Scott Russel Sanders (https://www.scottrussellsanders.com/book_pages/dancing_in_dreamtime.html) Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (https://www.urbanbushwomen.org/the-founder) Beatrice Capote (http://www.beatricecapote.com) Onye P. Ozuzu (https://arts.ufl.edu/directory/profile/152957) Camille A. Brown (http://www.camilleabrown.org) Christal Brown (https://christalbrown.com) The Shift Network (https://theshiftnetwork.com) Amiri Baraka (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiri_Baraka) The Lay Out (https://www.instagram.com/thelayoutco/?hl=en) About LEAP Transmedia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9xLBQraiSc) Special Guest: Farai Malianga.
Greetings Glocal Citizens! This week's episode is home grown in a sense as I had the chance to chat with long-time friend and collaborator, Farai Malianga. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Farai's journey to the US found him at the University in Colorado in Boulder where our stories connect. He is a Videographer, Composer, and Musician who began his career in African Dance in Colorado with Leticia Williams' Harambee and Musical Director Judy “Fatu” Henderson. He later relocated to New York where he began studying dance and drum with pioneers Yousouf Koumbasa, Mbemba Bangoura and Ronald K. Brown. He has performed with creative Masters such as Chuck Davis in BAMs ‘Dance Africa', Reginald Yates and Heritage O.P. for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre's their 40th Anniversary season; with musicians such as Roy Ayers, Wunmi Olaiya,, Manchild Black, and Akua Allrich to name a few. He has also performed on and off broadway in the musical 'Fela!' and “Darker Faces of the Earth” directed by Trezana Beverley, respectively. As a videographer, most recent projects include editing the archival documentary for “Kumbuka” the longest active New Orleans-based West African Dance troupe. This fall he joins Florida State University as a tenure track Professor with a focus on music for dance and choreography. He will be teaching Rhythmic Analysis, Music for Choreography, and Digital Audio Recording while also providing music support for African, Dunham and Contemporary classes. We definitely have something to look forward to seeing Farai's work flourish on a whole new level in this role! Where to find Farai? On LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/farai-malianga-21b13351/) On Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/maliangafaraim/) On Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/farai.malianga) On Twitter (https://twitter.com/fmmalianga) On YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/PLFMM) What's Farai reading? Octavia E. Butler (https://www.octaviabutler.com) What's Farai listening to? Kendrick Lamar (https://oklama.com) J. Cole (https://www.dreamville.com) Pharoahe Monch (https://www.pharoahe.com) Other topics of interest: Regional Dance America (https://regionaldanceamerica.org) Ronald K. Brown (https://www.evidencedance.com) Scott Russel Sanders (https://www.scottrussellsanders.com/book_pages/dancing_in_dreamtime.html) Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (https://www.urbanbushwomen.org/the-founder) Beatrice Capote (http://www.beatricecapote.com) Onye P. Ozuzu (https://arts.ufl.edu/directory/profile/152957) Camille A. Brown (http://www.camilleabrown.org) Christal Brown (https://christalbrown.com) The Shift Network (https://theshiftnetwork.com) Amiri Baraka (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiri_Baraka) The Lay Out (https://www.instagram.com/thelayoutco/?hl=en) About LEAP Transmedia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9xLBQraiSc) Special Guest: Farai Malianga.
Eric's Perspective : A podcast series on African American art
In this episode, Eric speaks with Kristin Sakoda; director of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, where they discuss her journey in the arts; beginning as a child performer in Chicago, to professional dancer in New York with the Urban Bush Women dance company to performing in musicals on Broadway including the famed show Rent.. to original cast member of Mamma Mia! and later completing her studies in Law where she specialized in entertainment law. They discuss how she eventually transitioned into the public sector, where she was able to blend her passion for the arts and performance with public arts programs and making art more available to all. She sheds light on the mission and vision of LA County Department of Art and Culture and making access to art more equitable, with a focus on diversity and representation... using the power of art a as a vehicle to uplift and inspire communities, to learn about different cultures, to channel and overcome adversity and heal together.For more visit: www.ericsperspective.comGuest Bio: Kristin Sakoda is Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, a local arts agency which fulfills a mission to advance arts, culture, and creativity throughout the largest county in the U.S. The Department of Arts and Culture provides grants and technical assistance to hundreds of nonprofit organizations; runs the largest arts internship program in the nation; coordinates countywide public-private arts education initiatives; increases access to creative career pathways; commissions civic artwork; supports free community programs; leads the LA County Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative; and advances cross-sector cultural strategies to address civic issues. Appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Ms. Sakoda previously served as Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Under her leadership, she led the organization during its historic transition into the County's first Department of Arts and Culture.Ms. Sakoda is an arts executive, attorney, and performing artist with more than 25 years in the field. She has appeared on national and international stages including with dance and social justice company Urban Bush Women and in musicals Rent and Mamma Mia! on Broadway. Prior to her work at the Department of Arts and Culture, she served in key leadership roles at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs overseeing a portfolio of strategic, programmatic, policy, legislative, and funding programs with a $200 million annual budget, and was instrumental in advancing diversity and inclusion; public art; creative aging; cultural facilities; and affordable workspace for artists. She holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law with honors in Entertainment Law, and B.A. from Stanford University with a specialization in Race and Ethnicity and a secondary major in Feminist Studies. As of 2021, she is a Board member of Grantmakers in the Arts, the national association of public and private arts funders in the U.S. About Eric's Perspective: A podcast series on African American art with Eric Hanks. Eric Hanks — African American art specialist, owner of the renowned M. Hanks Gallery and commissioner on the Los Angeles County Arts Commission; offers his perspective on African American art through in-depth conversations with fellow art enthusiasts where they discuss the past, present & future of African American art.For more on Eric's Perspective, visit www.ericsperspective.comSUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/2vVJkDnConnect with us ONLINE: Website: https://bit.ly/2ZQ41x1Facebook: https://bit.ly/3jq5fXPInstagram: https://bit.ly/39jFZxGTwitter: https://bit.ly/2OMRx33
Today's guest is Melanie George. Melanie is a dance educator, choreographer, scholar, and dramaturg. She is the founder and director of Jazz Is… Dance Project and an Associate Curator and Scholar-In-Residence at Jacob's Pillow. As a dramaturg, she has contributed to projects by David Neumann & Marcella Murray, Raja Feather Kelly, Ephrat Asherie, Susan Marshall & Company, Machine Dazzle, Kimberly Bartosik/daela, and Urban Bush Women among others. A highly sought after teacher and choreographer of the neo-jazz aesthetic, Melanie is featured in the documentary UpRooted: The Journey of Jazz, Dance. For more on this episode: Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast
A graduate of Florida State University, Michelle Mercedes worked with Urban Bush Women and Dance Lab New York prior to being cast as Clarice in the 2020 West Side Story revival on Broadway. She appeared in New York productions of I Married an Angel and Samson et Dalila, and regional productions of The Wiz, Mary Poppins, Crazy for You, and Footloose. In addition to her performance career, she is an entrepreneur and MBA candidate at the University of Florida. She also worked in the fitness industry both as an educator and as an administrator with certifications as a personal trainer and Pilates Instructor. Her work is shaped by her love of dance, drive to impact the industry, and as a black woman. She plans to establish a talent agency focused on access and diversity for performing artists of color. In our conversation she shares the very real joys and challenges in the arts and entertainment industry, and how she shapes her mindset to carve out her space within it. She is direct, grateful, and focused. To learn more about Michelle and her work, check out her Instagram feed @michellemercedes_. Let me know how you've responded to her experience via my website or social media. Be inspired and be brave, YOU are the emcee of your story.
A transcript of this episode is available here: https://thedanceedit.com/transcript-episode-70Links referenced in/relevant to episode 70:-The Dance Edit Extra information and sign-up: https://mailchi.mp/dancemedia.com/the-dance-edit-extra-New York Times coverage of the Black TikTok creator strike: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/style/black-tiktok-strike.html-NBC News piece on the strike's effectiveness: https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/give-credit-where-it-s-due-tiktoker-speaks-out-about-n1272287-OBT ArtsWatch story on Kevin Irving's departure from Oregon Ballet Theatre: https://www.orartswatch.org/obt-and-kevin-irving-part-ways/-Datebook's piece on Kelly Tweeddale's departure from San Francisco Ballet: https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/dance/kelly-tweeddale-steps-down-from-top-spot-at-san-francisco-ballet-New York Times feature on MacKenzie Scott's gifts to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ballet Hispánico, and Urban Bush Women: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/27/arts/dance/mackenzie-scott-dance.html-New York Amsterdam News piece on how the Scott grant will transform DTH: http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2021/jun/24/dance-theatre-harlem-receives-10m-gift-New York Daily News story on how Ailey will use the funds: https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-alvin-ailey-american-dance-theater-plans-20-million-mackenzie-scott-20210623-zaq4xbu3svhfzeoo5oay2eante-story.html
In this episode, NCCAkron's Executive/Artistic Director, Christy Bolingbroke enters the 'studio' with New York-based improviser and movement artist, Samantha Speis. Speis has worked with Gesel Mason, The Dance Exchange, Deborah Hay, is currently a member of The Skeleton Architecture collective of black womyn and gender non-conforming artists, and was recently awarded a Bessie for Outstanding Performer. She is also the Artistic Director of Urban Bush Women.urbanbushwomen.org/the-company
I met Maia Claire Garrison through our work at The Joyce Theater in the Dance Education Program. She is the Owner & Creative Director of Reel. Dance. Music. With a musician father and dancer mother, the arts were embedded in her upbringing. Maia Claire started in childhood as a competitive gymnast, at age 10 she was discovered by The Big Apple Circus. For two years she studied circus arts and joined The Back Street Flyers' circus act, performing and touring as a child acrobat. She joined her first professional dance troupe as a teenager with Afro Danza. She's toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America working as a dancer, singer, actress, and with the critically acclaimed Urban Bush Women directed by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Her company M'Zawa Danz was presented at a range of venues such as Aaron Davis Hall, Bennington College, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn Academy of Music, City Center, New York City College, Central Park Summer Stage, Celebrate Brooklyn, Connecticut College, Dance Space Project, Dance Theater Workshop, Florida State University, Jacob's Pillow, The Kitchen, The Knitting Factory, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, Miami Dade College, The Miller Theater, New Jersey City University, New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), Playhouse 91, 651 Arts, Rutgers State University, Sarah Lawrence College, St. Stephen's School Rome, SUNY Potsdam University, Symphony Space, Syracuse University, Wave Hill and at The World Trade Center Plaza to name a few. Awarded three consecutive grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts, Maia Claire choreographed multi-disciplinary dance performances, wrote music and co-produced studio recordings often collaborating with her two siblings, ShapeShifter Lab owner/bassist Matthew Garrison, and distinguished Jazz vocalist Joy Garrison. Both widely respected and internationally acclaimed artists in their own right. Learn more about her work: www.maiaclaire.com www.athleticflowmethod.com iTunes This conversation took place in January 2021. Learn more about career planning for dance: https://www.emceemovement.com/.
Episode Five Special Guest: Jawole Willa Jo Zollar Jawole Willa Jo Zollar is in the profession of creating. Inspired by jazz from an early age, she embraces a methodology based on collaboration, strength, and finding the shared genius in the room. In Episode Five, Jawole shares how she has navigated the administrative side of running a performance company and persevered in her pursuit of arts funding, all while remaining true to her artistic vision. Zollar is the Nancy Smith Fichter Professor of Dance at Florida State University, and in 2011 she received FSU's prestigious Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Award. She earned her B.A in dance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and later her M.F.A. in dance from Florida State University. After moving to New York City to study with Dianne McIntyre from Sounds in Motion, Zollar founded Urban Bush Women in 1984. The UBW was founded as a performance ensemble dedicated to exploring the use of cultural expression as a catalyst for social change. Along with creating 34 works for UBW, Jawole has also directed pieces for several dance companies including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco, and University Maryland. UBW is among only 20 companies to be honored by the Ford Foundation as one of America's Cultural Treasures.
EP 16 DuEwa interviews DaMaris B. Hill, Ph.D. about her latest book A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing. DaMaris also discusses her writing life and women who've influenced her work. Visit www.damarishill.com for more information on DaMaris' book. Also follow her on all social media platforms. Listen to this episode on Anchor FM, iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Radio Public, Spotify and others. FOLLOW the podcast on Twitter @nerdacitypod1. SUBSCRIBE to see podcast videos at YouTube.com/duewaworld SUPPORT future episodes of the podcast at anchor.fm/duewafrazier/support or PayPal.me/duewaworld BIO DaMaris B. Hill, PhD is the author of A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing, The Fluid Boundaries of Suffrage and Jim Crow: Staking Claims in the American Heartland, Vi-zə-bəl Teks-chərs(Visible Textures).Similar to her creative process, Hill's scholarly research is interdisciplinary. Hill is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Kentucky. Hill has a keen interest in the work of Toni Morrison and theories regarding ‘rememory' as a philosophy and aesthetic practice. She is inspired by the anxieties of our contemporary existence that are further complicated by fears that some linear narratives of history fail to be inclusive, stating “I belong to a generation of people who do not fear death, but are afraid that we may be forgotten.” In addition to working or taking workshops with writers such as Lucille Clifton, Nikky Finney, Natasha Trethewey, Deborah Willis, and Monifa Love-Asante [and others], Hill sought to strengthen her writing with a terminal degree in English and another in Women and Gender Studies. Her development as a writer has also been enhanced by the institutional support of theThe MacDowell Colony, Key West Literary Seminar/Writers Workshops, Callaloo Literary Writers Workshop, Eckerd College Writers' Conference: Writers in Paradise, Project on the History of Black Writing, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in Vermont, Bread Loaf Writer's Conference in Sicily, The Furious Flower Poetry Center, The Urban Bush Women, The Watering Hole Poetryand others. Her work has appeared in African American Review, ESPNw, Sou'Wester, Sleet Magazine, American Studies Journal, Meridians, Shadowbox, Tidal Basin Review, Reverie, Tongues of the Ocean, Women in Judaism and numerous anthologies. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/duewafrazier/support
"Black love looks like family, in all its many guises. Ancestral, by blood, found family. It looks like embodied culture…. and discovered culture. Sometimes we find and find out about lineage later than expected or desired. It doesn't make it any less real or desired. Black love FEELS like comfort. It's in our food, our style, our language. It looks like self love, self acceptance, self possession. It looks like bonds not bondage." Educator and choreographer Melanie George is Dani Tirrell's guest on #IntimateConversations this week. The two talk about hair, Jazz and loving your 40s, and Dani asks Dani's favorite question, "What is your Joy?" Support Melanie through Venmo: @Melanie-George-7 About Melanie George: Melanie George is an educator, dramaturg, choreographer, and scholar. She is the founder of Jazz Is… Dance Project and an Associate Curator and Scholar-in-Residence at Jacob's Pillow. As a dramaturg, she has contributed to projects by Urban Bush Women, Raja Feather Kelly, Susan Marshall & Company, and Ephrat Asherie Dance, among others. A highly sought after teacher and choreographer of the neo-jazz aesthetic, Melanie is a featured contributor and consultant for the documentary UpRooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance. Publications include “Jazz Dance, Pop Culture, and the Music Video Era” in Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches (University Press of Florida) and “Imbed/In Bed: Two Perspectives on Dance and Collaboration” for Working Together in Qualitative Research (Sense Publishers). Melanie also works as an arts consultant, applying her expertise in scholarship and education to assist artists and arts organizations in articulating language and facilitating the development of creative work. In addition to her work with independent choreographers and dance educators, Melanie has provided professional services to The Joyce Theatre, The Guggenheim Museum, and BAM, among others. She is the former director of the dance program at American University, and has held teaching positions at Kent State University and Wilson College. Currently, she is a Visiting Professor at Cornish College of Arts in Seattle, Washington. About CD Forum: The CD Forum is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to present and produce Black cultural programs that encourage thought and debate for the greater Seattle area. Our vision is to inspire new thoughts and challenge assumptions about Black Culture.
This week we are Dancing Through Change with diasporic dance icon, Marina Magalhaes! Join us for this episode as we sway and move through the uncertainty with ease and passion. We can’t wait for you to listen! MARINA MAGALHÃES is border-crosser, bridge-builder, and dance-and-change-maker from Brazil, based in Los Angeles. Her unapologetically feminist and latinx work has been shared throughout Los Angeles (REDCAT Theater, Ford Amphitheatre, Zipper Concert Hall, Highways Performance Space, UCLA Fowler Museum, Blaktina Festival), San Francisco (CounterPulse, Yerba Buena Night, Dance Mission Theater), New York (Bowery Ballroom), Brazil (Universidade do Rio De Janeiro, Centro de Teatro do Oprimido, and Parque das Ruínas in Rio), Cuba (Teatro Favorito in La Havana), South Africa (The Wits Theatre in Johannesburg and My Body My Space Festival in Mpumalanga), Botswana (Maitisong Festival in Gabarone) and France (University of the Arts MFA program in Montpellier). She was awarded the LA Weekly Theater Award for Best Choreography in 2013 for her original work in the pop musical phenomenon “Patty! The Revival”. In 2014 she received the Pennington Dance Group Space Grant @ ARC and the UCLA Hothouse Residency to create her critically acclaimed work, (UN)BRIDALED. Hailed as "the type of show that keeps concert dance relevant in our lives" by LA Dance Review and "an unrivaled dance theater experience" by Theatre Ghost, (UN)BRIDALED was adapted with a cast of South African women and performed at The Wits Theatre's Human Rights & Social Justice Season 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa. There, it was hailed as "riveting... a physical and emotional feat" by Creative Feel magazine. In 2017 she began a multi-year choreography residency with the LA-based Viver Brasil Dance Company, who commissioned Cor Da Pele, a dance concert work selected by the National Endowment for the Arts as one of the top 40 best choreographic works of 2018. Other choreography credits include collaborations with visual artist Carolina Caycedo on the experimental film Apariciones / Apparitions (commissioned by The Huntington Library and officially selected for the Motion Capture series at Highways Space), music videos for the YouTube sensation Watsky (including “Moral of the Story” with over 9 million views), and live tours nation-wide with the rising East LA-based band Las Cafeteras. Magalhães holds a B.A. in World Arts and Cultures with a Dance Concentration from UCLA, where she was the recipient of the international Moss Scholarship ($76,000) and had the opportunity to study with renowned artists such as David Rousseve, Victoria Marks, Barak Marshall, Susan Foster, Rennie Harris, Ronit Ziv, Maria Gillespie, and Cheng-Chieh Yu. Additionally, she has trained extensively in contemporary dance with Maria Bauman, House and Hip Hop with Jackie "Miss Funk" Lopez of Versa-Style, Afro-Brazilian dance with Rosangela Silvestre & Vera Passos of Bahia, Brazil, and conducted separate two-month long apprenticeships with Urban Bush Women in NYC and Gregory Maqoma of Vuyani Dance Theatre in South Africa in 2016. She is also an alum of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Emerging Leaders Institute (2014) & Director's Lab West (2014). For seven years, Magalhães worked with CONTRA-TIEMPO Urban Latin Dance Theater as a Performer, Teaching Artist, Resident Choreographer, Director of Arts Education, Assistant Artistic Director and ultimately Artistic Director Interim, playing a crucial role in the company’s development of a unique and powerful dance activist methodology. Magalhães has also performed in works by Victoria Marks (Smallest Gesture, Grandest Frame, voted runner-up in REDCAT Theater’s A.W.A.R.D. show in 2011), Viver Brasil Dance Company (alongside Grammy Award-winning artist Sergio Mendes at the world-famous 18,000 seat theater Hollywood Bowl), as a guest soloist with Maria Bauman's MBDance Company, and as a guest artist with Bessie Award-winning choreographer Joya Powell and her company Movement Of The People. Magalhães is a dedicated and experienced educator whose unique and inclusive approach to movement has been shared throughout the world. Her on-going movement research is called Dancing Diaspora, based on the fundamental belief that decolonization is inherently a transformative and futuristic process of reinventing and reclaiming tradition, and like the word diaspora communicates, it seeks to embody past and future, tradition and creativity, ancestry and individuality. In 2017 & 2018, Magalhães received the California Arts Council Artists In Communities award to provide the Dancing Diaspora class at Pieter Space free of charge, which she is currently offering a weekly basis. Additionally, Magalhães has taught in over twenty-five K-12 schools and designed dozens of original curricula that introduce young people to yoga and meditation, creative movement, and dance as resistance. Magalhães has taught Latin American Social Dances as Adjunct Faculty at various universities, including California State Polytechnic University of Pomona, Occidental College, Scripps College, and where she currently lectures, UC Riverside. She is a co-founder and faculty of UCLA Department of World Arts & Cultures's Travel Study program, which brings college students to study at the renowned Center for Theater of the Oppressed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is also a certified yoga instructor and a founding teacher of the East LA-based People's Yoga studio since 2014. While Magalhães is based in Los Angeles, she has special ties to Latin America and especially Brazil, her native country, as she routinely travels to conduct her artistic research and share her work. To learn more about Marina’s work please visit her https://www.marinamagalhaes.com/. Follow her on Instagram @marinamagalicious, YouTube @marinaomagalhaes Remember, it’s no fun to SHIFT alone so share, review, like, and repost to invite your friends and loved ones along for the ride! Follow us @shapingtheshiftpodcast and host Thea Monyee´ @theamonyee on IG! There are many ways to support this joy-centered, pleasure-focused work! Thea’s Patreon, Ca$h App ($theamonyee), or Venmo (@theamonyee), so pick your favorite and show us some love!
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar is the founding artistic director and chief visioning partner of Urban Bush Women, a performance ensemble dedicated to exploring the use of cultural expression as a catalyst for social change. Designated a Master of Choreography by the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center, she received the Bessies Lifetime Achievement Award and honorary degrees from both Tufts University and Rutgers University.
photo by Jonathan Hsu Christal Brown has the distinction of being many things. She endorses a short list of these attributes that includes the titles mother, artist, educator, disciple and coach. Brown is most well known as a dancer and choreographer due to her 20+ year career as a performer and artistic director. Brown describes herself as a person with a servant heart and a workaholic mind, who has used dance to touch and be touched by others. Brown grew up in a small, Eastern North Carolina town, where she frequently accompanied her mother to NAACP, Black Caucus, and community board meetings. This early exposure to social movements and communal responsibility undoubtedly has influenced Brown’s work both on and off stage. As an undergraduate, Brown studied Dance and Business at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Upon graduation, she went on to tour nationally and internationally with companies such as Urban Bush Women, Bill T. Jones, Chuck Davis, and Liz Lerman before founding her own company, INSPIRIT. Brown has served as the Founding Artistic Director of INSPIRIT for 16 years. During her tenure Brown developed curriculum for the New York Department of Education, choreographed over 75 performance works, created the Liquid Strength training module for dance, and the Project: BECOMING, self-development program for women and girls. While developing INSPIRIT Brown completed her MFA in New Media Art and Technology at Long Island University and joined the faculty of Middlebury College in 2008. At Middlebury, Brown serves as an Associate professor of dance, the current chair of the Dance Program and former Faculty Director of MiddCORE. Her dance career has continued to thrive in performances with the Bebe Miller Company, and her most recent choreographic works; The Opulence of Integrity and What We Ask of Flesh. Brown’s newest manifestation of love is Steps and Stages Coaching, LLC; where as a Life Mastery™ Consultant, certified by the BraveThinking Institute, Brown is able to coach, facilitate, and inspire other to pursue their dreams and create a life they truly love living. photo by Maranie What We Ask of Flesh, Kelly Strayhorn Theater photo by: Tayler Goodwin, The Project: BECOMING Box, available at www.christal brown.com.shop
Stephanie speaks about: being from singers and medicine people; growing through self-doubt imposed by the public school system; creating life-long friendships in art making spaces; her determination to make and hold space for Black creatives; and being part of a second generation of connection and partnerships between Junebug Productions and Urban Bush Women. Stephanie is a performer, choreographer, educator, facilitator and cultural organizer based in New Orleans, LA. She is the Artistic Director for Junebug Productions Inc., the organizational successor to the Free Southern Theater (FST), which was formed in 1963 to be a cultural arm of the Civil Rights Movement and was a major influence in the Black Theater Movement. Stephanie is a member of Alternate ROOTS, a New Voices emerging leaders alumnus and has been a faculty member and facilitator for the Urban Bush Women Summer Leadership Institute for over 10 years. As an artist, Stephanie believes art is for everyone and is deeply committed to creating art that substantively reflects disparate conditions, and leveraging that art as a powerful tool for change. More about Stephanie and all dem Guests: https://www.whoyopeopleis.com/season-2 Junebug Productions: https://www.junebugproductions.org
Kesha McKey is a New Orleans based choreographer, the artistic director of KM Dance Project and the chair of the Dance Department at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. She recently received NEFA’s National Dance Project award for her latest work Raw Fruit and an invitation to the Urban Bush Women’s Choreographic Center Initiative. Visit Mondo Bizarro for more information and to donate. Our theme music is by Rotary Downs.
Chuy and Micah are back in the studio for the first time this season. Listen in to hear them recap the season so far, including an educational and engaging evening with Audra McDonald, a show of remarkable stamina by the cast of RENT, a game-changing collaboration between local artists (Vocal Artists of Iowa) and Storm Large, and a powerful residency with Urban Bush Women.
In our first episode of the 2019-2020 season, Micah and Chuy sat down for a conversation with the co-artistic directors of Urban Bush Women—a stirring contemporary dance company committed to pushing the boundaries of storytelling through spoken word, movement, and singing artists. Listen in to hear Chanon Judson-Johnson and Samantha Speis discuss UBW's unique history, dedication to training Builders, Organizers, and Leaders through Dance, commitment to community engagement, and their latest work, Hair & Other Stories, which Judson-Johnson calls "a kitchen conversation about systemic racism". Drawn from personal and public narratives centered on individual identity in a collective culture, Hair & Other Stories investigates issues of body image, race, gender identity, economic inequity, and more. Hair & Other Stories will be performed on the Hancher stage on Saturday, September 21. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at the Iowa City Public Library on Tuesday, September 17, 2019. For more information about the company, visit https://www.urbanbushwomen.org/.
This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay! 1. Rebecca Caplan, Director, SF Green Film Fest, Sept. 24-29, https://www.greenfilmfest.org/about 2.Alfonzo Washington and Michael Harris join us to talk about the 9th Annual African Global Trade and Investment Conference in Sacramento https://www.panafricanglobaltradeconference.com/ 3. Chanon Judson, Artistic Director, and Samantha Speis, Artistic Director, Urban Bush Women to talk about the company's show, Hair and Other Stories, 8-10 p.m., Sept. 14, at the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza, 1700 Alum Rock Ave.,in San Jose. urbanbushwomen.org Music: Zion Trinity's Opening Prayer for Elegba; Desert Rose's Ubuntu
Today's guest is Francesca Harper. Francesca is an internationally acclaimed, multifaceted artist. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Francesca Harper Project and former principal dancer with Ballet Frankfurt under William Forsythe. Francesca has choreographed works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Tanz Graz, Hubbard Street II, and Dallas Black Dance Theater, and enjoys her appointment as an adjunct professor at New York University and the Juilliard School. Francesca was awarded a two-year choreographic fellowship with Urban Bush Women, providing support toward her latest dance-theater work An Unapologetic Body. She is committed to works rooted in artistic expression, empowerment, and social awareness. For more info on this episodes and other interviews on Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast: http://themovingarchitects.org/podcasts/
Two Old Bitches: Stories from Women who Reimagine, Reinvent and Rebel
“I’m either the world’s greatest storyteller or the world’s greatest secret keeper.” At 60, Tracy Hyter-Suffern, can proudly say, “I am coming into my own. I’m the woman my mother kept trying to raise.” That woman is a glorious storyteller, joyful and wise, a salsa dancer, and a fierce and fearless cultural and social justice activist. She is the Executive Director of the National Jazz Museum of Harlem, the first Director of the Y.W.C.A. International Relations Department, and over the years ran and fundraised for many groups, from Urban Bush Women to Black Agency Executives. Tracy grew up --and still lives-- in “small town” Staten Island, “a Black girl from the projects” who in her 20s unearthed the family secret: her father’s family was not Black but Native American! It’s a great story that ends with Tracy successfully enrolling the family in the Ramapough Lunaape Nation. Listen now as Tracy shares this and other stories, along with her “Nine Reasons We Are Here.”
Hello everyone and welcome back to another Business of Dance Podcast Interview. On today’s show, we have the brilliant Olivia Mode-Cater of Dance ED Tips. Olivia is a New Jersey-based dance educator that teaches in all teaching settings: higher education, PK-12 schools, and private studios. She is the founder of Dance ED Tips, which provides dance educators in all sectors with the tools, strategies, and tips to make every dance class more effective, more impactful, and more in line with pedagogical theory. Olivia’s Bio: Olivia serves on the adjunct faculty of the Dance Department at Rutgers University supervising graduate student teaching interns and teaching several courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. Olivia has presented on dance education at various conferences including New Jersey Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance Conference, NJ Charter Schools Conference and at the National Dance Education Organization Conference. Her high-quality teaching has earned her several recognitions: 2012 Nancy Higginson Door Award, 2012 New Jersey Distinguished Student Teacher Award, and 2013 Union County Superintendent Round Table’s Teacher Excellence Award. Olivia is presently on the Board of Dance New Jersey as an advisor to the education committee. Professionally Olivia has performed in various music videos, including “Broadway for Orlando”, “Guilty” by Timeflies, and “Proof” by Giselle Bellas. She has performed the works of Mark Morris, Urban Bush Women, Doug Elkins (The Joyce Theater), Lauren Connolly (Dixon's Place), Randy James, and others. She also has several musical theatre credits: Legally Blonde (Off-Broadway), Thoroughly Modern Millie, Singin’ in the Rain, and The Producers. Olivia is also the founder and CEO of Dance ED Tips. Olivia recognizes that dance educators tackle big issues in their classroom every day. Dance ED Tips was created to help teachers refine their methods so that they can create the most well-rounded and skilled dancers possible. It is Dance ED Tips’ mission to teach useful strategies that make your classroom a place where students can learn, grow, and move with the same enthusiasm and energy that you teach with. Within Olivia’s programs, she provides 1 on 1 curriculum consulting for studio owners, workshops for teachers who want to improve students’ dance technique, a Dance edTPA Bootcamp, and so much more! Olivia’s Website: https://www.danceedtips.com/ For more Business Of Dance please, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram @claireosheacoaching. If you have any questions, topic suggestions or wish to be a guest on the podcast please contact us at podcast@businessofdance.net. Hosted By: Claire O'Shea
Show #204 | Guest: Jewelle Gomez | Show Summary: A rebroadcast of our November 19, 2016 show | Before Buffy, before Twilight, before Octavia Butler’s Fledgling, there was The Gilda Stories, Jewelle Gomez’s sexy vampire novel. This remarkable novel begins in 1850s Louisiana, where Gilda escapes slavery and learns about freedom while working in a brothel. After being initiated into eternal life as one who “shares the blood” by two women there, Gilda spends the next two hundred years searching for a place to call home. An instant lesbian classic when it was first published in 1991, The Gilda Stories has endured as an auspiciously prescient book in its explorations of blackness, radical ecology, re-definitions of family, and yes, the erotic potential of the vampire story. The winner of two Lambda Literary Awards (fiction and science fiction) THE GILDA STORIES is a very American odyssey. The 2016 anniversary edition has a new forward by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, one of UTNE Reader’s 50 Visionaries Transforming the World, a Reproductive Reality Check Shero, a Black Woman Rising nominee, and winner of one of the first-ever “Too Sexy for 501c3” trophies. Jewelle Gomez is a writer, activist, and the author of many books including Forty-Three Septembers, Don’t Explain, The Lipstick Papers, Flamingoes and Bears, and Oral Tradition. The Gilda Stories was the recipient of two Lambda Literary Awards, and was adapted for the stage by the Urban Bush Women theater company in thirteen United States cities.
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar recently sat with Carol Jenkins to discuss the Urban Bush Women dance company: their mission, how they use dance to bring forth social justice messages, and how they've been able to change the landscape of dance.
Urban Bush Women is a contemporary dance company that performs innovative and exciting works that bring untold stories to life! In their debut performance with the Virginia Arts Festival,UBW will present the world premiere of "Hair and Other Stories", an evening-length work that addresses matters of race, gender identity and economic inequality through the lens of physic al appearance, including the cultural significance of African American women's hair. On the next Another View we will meet members of the dance troupe, including founder and artistic director Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and dancer Courtney Cook, and find out how they use real life stories from right here in Hampton Roads as part of their performance! Join us for Another View, Friday, April 21 at noon on 89.5 WHRV-FM or stream us live on this blog!
Activist Artists Share Their Work. Playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, performance artist, and social critic Taylor Mac, choreographer and disability rights advocate Heidi Latsky, Joe's Pub Director Shanta Thake and Urban Bush Women, who are developing a work about race, gender, and economic inequality in the lives of African-American women at BPAC, offer examples of their activist work.
Activist Artists Share Their Work. Playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, performance artist, and social critic Taylor Mac, choreographer and disability rights advocate Heidi Latsky, Joe's Pub Director Shanta Thake and Urban Bush Women, who are developing a work about race, gender, and economic inequality in the lives of African-American women at BPAC, offer examples of their activist work.
Activist Artists Share Their Work. Playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, performance artist, and social critic Taylor Mac, choreographer and disability rights advocate Heidi Latsky, Joe's Pub Director Shanta Thake and Urban Bush Women, who are developing a work about race, gender, and economic inequality in the lives of African-American women at BPAC, offer examples of their activist work.
Activist Artists Share Their Work. Playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, performance artist, and social critic Taylor Mac, choreographer and disability rights advocate Heidi Latsky, Joe's Pub Director Shanta Thake and Urban Bush Women, who are developing a work about race, gender, and economic inequality in the lives of African-American women at BPAC, offer examples of their activist work.
Activist Artists Share Their Work. Playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, performance artist, and social critic Taylor Mac, choreographer and disability rights advocate Heidi Latsky, Joe's Pub Director Shanta Thake and Urban Bush Women, who are developing a work about race, gender, and economic inequality in the lives of African-American women at BPAC, offer examples of their activist work.
Activist Artists Share Their Work. Playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, performance artist, and social critic Taylor Mac, choreographer and disability rights advocate Heidi Latsky, Joe's Pub Director Shanta Thake and Urban Bush Women, who are developing a work about race, gender, and economic inequality in the lives of African-American women at BPAC, offer examples of their activist work.
Activist Artists Share Their Work. Playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, performance artist, and social critic Taylor Mac, choreographer and disability rights advocate Heidi Latsky, Joe's Pub Director Shanta Thake and Urban Bush Women, who are developing a work about race, gender, and economic inequality in the lives of African-American women at BPAC, offer examples of their activist work.
Show #147 | Guest: Jewelle Gomez is a writer, activist, and the author of many books including Forty-Three Septembers, Don’t Explain, The Lipstick Papers, Flamingoes and Bears, and Oral Tradition. The Gilda Stories was the recipient of two Lambda Literary Awards, and was adapted for the stage by the Urban Bush Women theater company in thirteen United States cities | Show Summary: Before Buffy, before Twilight, before Octavia Butler’s Fledgling, there was The Gilda Stories, Jewelle Gomez’s sexy vampire novel. This remarkable novel begins in 1850s Louisiana, where Gilda escapes slavery and learns about freedom while working in a brothel. After being initiated into eternal life as one who “shares the blood” by two women there, Gilda spends the next two hundred years searching for a place to call home. An instant lesbian classic when it was first published in 1991, The Gilda Stories has endured as an auspiciously prescient book in its explorations of blackness, radical ecology, re-definitions of family, and yes, the erotic potential of the vampire story. The winner of two Lambda Literary Awards (fiction and science fiction) THE GILDA STORIES is a very American odyssey. The 2016 anniversary edition has a new forward by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, one of UTNE Reader’s 50 Visionaries Transforming the World, a Reproductive Reality Check Shero, a Black Woman Rising nominee, and winner of one of the first-ever “Too Sexy for 501c3” trophies.
One-on-one conversations with Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun (Celebrating Elvin Jones) & Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, founder of the Urban Bush Women dance company.
This broadcast is a favorite legacy show that we produced under our old name Travel'n On and before rebranding as WORLD FOOTPRINTS. Jana La Sorte, Executive Director of Urban Bush Women, talks about her dance company’s selection as one of three companies selected to inaugurate the U.S. State Department’s cultural exchange program called “Dance Motion USA.” Then, you will meet Cat Cora, the first and only female Iron Chef and founder of the non-profit organization called Chefs for Humanity. Cat will talk about her foundation’s philanthropic efforts, including their newly launched campaign for Haiti called One Million in One Month. And now that the Olympic Games have concluded, the world is shifting its attention to South Africa, host country for the 2010 World Cup. Travel’n on will be joined by one of our newest partners, Dr. Tommy Clark, executive director of Grassroot Soccer to learn about his organization’s efforts in South Africa and how he uses the power of soccer to help curb the spread of HIV.
3.5 million Americans in Puerto Rico are in dire crisis. The island territory is mired in debt and facing imminent default. Media coverage has blamed the last twenty years - when tax breaks were rolled back and loans extended. But this week's guests say the root of Puerto Rico's problems go deeper than that - to US colonial rule. If colonialism's at least in part the culprit here, it's pretty ironic that the solutions on offer from Congress seem so colonial as well. This week, journalist Ed Morales and activist Charles Khan talk about the roots of the problem, and how a colonial approach to a colonial problem just might not do it. Later in the show, we visit with the Urban Bush Women at their Summer Leadership Institute, a training program for artists and organizers held every year in New Orleans. Founded in 1984 by choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Urban Bush Women seeks to bring the untold and under-told histories and stories of disenfranchised people to light through dance. All that and a few words from Laura on Yale University's outrageous aversion to paying taxes. Charles Khan is the Organizing Director at the Strong Economy For All Coalition, a Coalition of Labor Unions and Community groups fighting for economic equality, equal funding of public schools, and corporate accountability in New York State. He is also a leader of the HedgeClippers - an activist group taking on the Hedge Funds. Ed Morales is a journalist who has investigated New York City electoral politics, police brutality, street gangs, grassroots activists, and the Latino arts and music scene. He is also the author of "Living in Spanglish and The Latin Beat: From Rumba to Rock." He also co-directed a documentary called "Whose Barrio?" and is currently an adjunct professor at Columbia University's Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race.
In this talk Helen Haynes, Interim Director of Exhibitions and Programs with the African American Museum in Philadelphia, talks about the women featured in Demetria Royals' film "Conjure Women," including the Urban Bush Women.
We speak this morning to Latanya d. Tigner who has been with Dimensions since 1986, studying and performing traditional West and South African dance, modern, contemporary, jazz, Haitian, Cuban, and Congolese dance. She has traveled to Cuba, Guinea, Brazil, Jordan, Germany, and throughout the U.S. Latanya was selected as one of three emerging artists for the first annual Black Choreographers Here and Now Festival in 2005. This past summer she participated in Urban Bush Women's acclaimed Summer Leadership Institute in New Orleans, where she worked with dancers and other social activists to serve the New Orleans community. She also did a residency with Shaka Zulu to study the traditions of mask dance in New Orleans. Latanya is the artistic diector and choreographer for Dimensions‘ youth ensemble, Dimensions Extensions Performing Ensemble (DEPE). She joins us to talk about the 20th Anniversary performance of Rites of Passage, Sunday, Dec. 5, 3 p.m. in Oakland. Visit www.dimensionsdance.org We close with two archival interviews, the first with director, Haifa Al Mansour. Her film Wadjda is the first film by a Saudi woman (2013). We close with an interview with the former director of the Museum of the African Diaspora, Grace C. Stanislaus. Our conversation with Ms. Stanilaus is about the exhibit Desert Jewels. Music: Gina Breedlove's "Breathe" and "Wind."
Mark Anthony Neal joins Jawole Willa Jo Zollar at the Reynolds Industries Theater to talk about her dance troupe, Urban Bush Women. Urban Bush Women celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. The troupe spent two weeks in residency at Duke University this fall and will continue its tour through this summer. For more details: http://www.urbanbushwomen.org
Acclaimed dancer-choreographer Nora Chipaumire--recipient of a 2007 New York Dance and Performance ("Bessie") Award--joins me to discuss her vision and mission as a Zimbabwe-born contemporary dance artist of Shona heritage. She previews her April 30-May 1 solo season at Dance Theater Workshop. BIO Nora Chipaumire was born in Mutare, Zimbabwe during the Chimurenga Chechipiri, or second war of liberation. A self-exiled artist now based in New York, she investigates the collaborative process within cultural, political, economic, and technological identities of African contemporary life. Her work is transnational, unafraid, and eager to burn cultural, creative, and geographic boundaries. She creates provocative and politically relevant multimedia dance work, illuminating the struggles of human identity in an increasingly borderless world. Her work is inspired by art from her native country such as shona sculpture and chimurenga music--art that results from the often violent convergence of rural, urban, African, non-African, cultural, economic, colonial, and technological ideas. A visionary African contemporary dance artist, her work speaks to the human condition with power, authority, and urgency. Nora Chipaumire is a recipient of a 2007 New York Dance and Performance (aka "Bessie") Award. She is also a Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC) 2007-08 Choreographic Fellow. She is a recipient of National Dance Project (NDP) Tour Support in 2007-08. She also received a Jerome Travel and Study Grant to participate in the JANT-BI Diaspora Project in Toubab Dialaw, Senegal in May and August 2007. Nora was honored with the Mariam McGlone Emerging Choreographer Award from Wesleyan University Center for the Arts on March 10, 2007. She is featured in the documentary "Movement (R)evolution" and is the subject of the documentary-in-progress, "Nora Chipaumire: A Physical Biography," directed by Alla Kovgan and David Hinton, supported by a 2007 EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission. A graduate of the law school of the University of Zimbabwe, Chipaumire received her MA in Dance and MFA in Choreography and Performance from Mills College in Oakland, CA. She has shown her work widely and danced with a variety companies in the US and abroad. Most notably, she is a member of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar's world-renowned Urban Bush Women. UPCOMING EVENTS "Chimurenga" at Dance Theater Workshop, April 30-May 3 (7:30pm). Coffee and Pre-Show Talk, April 30 at 6:30, with Charmaine WaTalk, April 30, with Brian McCormick Student Matinee, May 2, at Noon LINK Dance Theater Workshop http://www.dancetheaterworkshop.org Urban Bush Women http://www.urbanbushwomen.org/ Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml. (c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
Acclaimed dancer-choreographer Nora Chipaumire--recipient of a 2007 New York Dance and Performance ("Bessie") Award--joins me to discuss her vision and mission as a Zimbabwe-born contemporary dance artist of Shona heritage. She previews her April 30-May 1 solo season at Dance Theater Workshop. BIO Nora Chipaumire was born in Mutare, Zimbabwe during the Chimurenga Chechipiri, or second war of liberation. A self-exiled artist now based in New York, she investigates the collaborative process within cultural, political, economic, and technological identities of African contemporary life. Her work is transnational, unafraid, and eager to burn cultural, creative, and geographic boundaries. She creates provocative and politically relevant multimedia dance work, illuminating the struggles of human identity in an increasingly borderless world. Her work is inspired by art from her native country such as shona sculpture and chimurenga music--art that results from the often violent convergence of rural, urban, African, non-African, cultural, economic, colonial, and technological ideas. A visionary African contemporary dance artist, her work speaks to the human condition with power, authority, and urgency. Nora Chipaumire is a recipient of a 2007 New York Dance and Performance (aka "Bessie") Award. She is also a Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC) 2007-08 Choreographic Fellow. She is a recipient of National Dance Project (NDP) Tour Support in 2007-08. She also received a Jerome Travel and Study Grant to participate in the JANT-BI Diaspora Project in Toubab Dialaw, Senegal in May and August 2007. Nora was honored with the Mariam McGlone Emerging Choreographer Award from Wesleyan University Center for the Arts on March 10, 2007. She is featured in the documentary "Movement (R)evolution" and is the subject of the documentary-in-progress, "Nora Chipaumire: A Physical Biography," directed by Alla Kovgan and David Hinton, supported by a 2007 EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission. A graduate of the law school of the University of Zimbabwe, Chipaumire received her MA in Dance and MFA in Choreography and Performance from Mills College in Oakland, CA. She has shown her work widely and danced with a variety companies in the US and abroad. Most notably, she is a member of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar's world-renowned Urban Bush Women. UPCOMING EVENTS "Chimurenga" at Dance Theater Workshop, April 30-May 3 (7:30pm). Coffee and Pre-Show Talk, April 30 at 6:30, with Charmaine WaTalk, April 30, with Brian McCormick Student Matinee, May 2, at Noon LINK Dance Theater Workshop http://www.dancetheaterworkshop.org Urban Bush Women http://www.urbanbushwomen.org/ Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml. (c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa
Choreographer Makeda Thomas (of Roots and Wings Movement!) called from Trinidad to speak with me about the tragic killing of her colleague, Augusto Cuvilas, one of Mozambique's most celebrated dance artists. Although the sound quality of this phone interview is not ideal, the information she presents is very important, and time is of the essence. Makeda has been invited to join with South African choreographer Boyzie Cekwana to complete a project that the three were working on at the time of Cuvilas's death. For more information on how you can help, visit Makeda's site at www.makedathomas.org. Makeda Thomas is from Trinidad & Tobago and has presented work at HARLEM Stage/Aaron Davis Hall, Dance Theater Workshop, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Chicago Women's Performance Arts Festival, Maputo's Teatro Africa, Caribbean Contemporary Arts (CCA7), and as a Cultural Envoy for the U.S. Department of State. Her choreography has been commissioned by 651 ARTS Black Dance: Tradition & Transformation (2007) and received awards from the United States Embassy (2006 & 2005), Puffin Foundation (2005), New York State Council on the Arts (2005), Bossak-Heilbron Charitable Foundation (2005), Arts International (2003), Yellowfox Foundation (2006), and the National AIDS Council of Moçambique (2005). In 2004, during its 25th Anniversary season, she was named Resident Choreographer of Companhia Nacional De Canto e Dança. Graça Machel (Former First Lady of South Africa and Moçambique) serves as the Honorary Patron of her internationally acclaimed work, "A Sense of Place" (2005), on which she presented at the 1st Conference on New Perspectives in African Performing & Visual Arts. In 2007, she became a featured choreographer in ‘This Woman’s Work: Choreographic Development Project Representing Women of Color’ - joining Camille A. Brown, Bridget Moore, Shani Collins, Princess Mhoon Cooper, Francine Ott, & Ursula Payne. As a dancer, Makeda Thomas has toured internationally in the companies of Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, URBAN BUSH WOMEN, and Rennie Harris/ Puremovement, and independently with Robin Becker Dance, Lula Washington Dance Theater, and Stephen Koplowitz. She began her study in Brooklyn, New York with Michael Goring, continuing on scholarship at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, The Paul Taylor School and Hofstra University where she earned a B.A. in Dance and English. Ms. Thomas has conducted research projects in South Africa and The Netherlands, artistic residencies in Hawaii and Florida; and arts in education projects with The Dalton School, Arts in Ed. Institute of Western NY, and NYC Dept. of Education. She continues to create dance works and perform internationally, while living in New York City & Port of Spain. Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml. (c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa This material may not be reproduced in any way, either in part or in its entirety, without the expressed written permission of Eva Yaa Asantewaa.
Choreographer Makeda Thomas (of Roots and Wings Movement!) called from Trinidad to speak with me about the tragic killing of her colleague, Augusto Cuvilas, one of Mozambique's most celebrated dance artists. Although the sound quality of this phone interview is not ideal, the information she presents is very important, and time is of the essence. Makeda has been invited to join with South African choreographer Boyzie Cekwana to complete a project that the three were working on at the time of Cuvilas's death. For more information on how you can help, visit Makeda's site at www.makedathomas.org. Makeda Thomas is from Trinidad & Tobago and has presented work at HARLEM Stage/Aaron Davis Hall, Dance Theater Workshop, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Chicago Women's Performance Arts Festival, Maputo's Teatro Africa, Caribbean Contemporary Arts (CCA7), and as a Cultural Envoy for the U.S. Department of State. Her choreography has been commissioned by 651 ARTS Black Dance: Tradition & Transformation (2007) and received awards from the United States Embassy (2006 & 2005), Puffin Foundation (2005), New York State Council on the Arts (2005), Bossak-Heilbron Charitable Foundation (2005), Arts International (2003), Yellowfox Foundation (2006), and the National AIDS Council of Moçambique (2005). In 2004, during its 25th Anniversary season, she was named Resident Choreographer of Companhia Nacional De Canto e Dança. Graça Machel (Former First Lady of South Africa and Moçambique) serves as the Honorary Patron of her internationally acclaimed work, "A Sense of Place" (2005), on which she presented at the 1st Conference on New Perspectives in African Performing & Visual Arts. In 2007, she became a featured choreographer in ‘This Woman’s Work: Choreographic Development Project Representing Women of Color’ - joining Camille A. Brown, Bridget Moore, Shani Collins, Princess Mhoon Cooper, Francine Ott, & Ursula Payne. As a dancer, Makeda Thomas has toured internationally in the companies of Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, URBAN BUSH WOMEN, and Rennie Harris/ Puremovement, and independently with Robin Becker Dance, Lula Washington Dance Theater, and Stephen Koplowitz. She began her study in Brooklyn, New York with Michael Goring, continuing on scholarship at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, The Paul Taylor School and Hofstra University where she earned a B.A. in Dance and English. Ms. Thomas has conducted research projects in South Africa and The Netherlands, artistic residencies in Hawaii and Florida; and arts in education projects with The Dalton School, Arts in Ed. Institute of Western NY, and NYC Dept. of Education. She continues to create dance works and perform internationally, while living in New York City & Port of Spain. Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml. (c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa This material may not be reproduced in any way, either in part or in its entirety, without the expressed written permission of Eva Yaa Asantewaa.
Germaine Acogny, Artistic Director of JANT-BI is interviewed by UBW dancer Catherine Denecy on collaboration with UBW titled “Scales of Memory” premiering in 2008.
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Artistic Director of UBW is interviewed by UBW dancer Nora Chipaumire on collaboration with JANT-BI “Scales of Memory” premiering in 2008.