UBW Press Release FINAL
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Northrop Dance at the University of Minnesota Presents Urban Bush Women with Additional Free Public Events Minneapolis, MN (October 11, 2010) - Northrop Dance at the University of Minnesota presents Urban Bush Women on Sun, Oct 24, 7:00 pm at Ted Mann Concert Hall. Zollar: Uncensored is an evocative retrospective collection of feminist works from the 80’s and 90’s that were not seen during that era of artistic repression in arts presenters nationwide. Many public events are also happening around Urban Bush Woman, including artist interviews, book club discussion, public lectures, and related dance performances. See details of all events and company information below. "So juicily do the dancers in Jawole Willa Jo Zollar's company project empowerment, self- esteem, and strength under duress that after every dance, you want to cheer." –The Village Voice Performance Northrop Dance Presents Urban Bush Women Zollar: Uncensored Sun, Oct 27, 7:00 pm Ted Mann Concert Hall $27, $37, $47 Zollar: Uncensored is an evocative journey of Zollar’s creative history from 1984 to the present. The company has a rich history of presenting in the Twin Cities, including a long connection to the Walker Art Center who presented and commissioned a number of UBW pieces in the '80s and '90s. However, the works of Zollar: Uncensored have never been seen before in the Twin Cities. She chose sections of works that speak to her early investigations into eroticism, sensuality, and the reclaiming of the broken parts of the self after trauma. This retrospective is a collage of excerpts that connects to the area of Jawole's work that she eventually abandoned or that was diminished when the Jesse Helms era of censorship frightened presenters and funders. Ultimately Zollar: Uncensored is a tribute to all of the women who have been Urban Bush Women. For more background on the company and its distinctive history with the Twin Cities, visit this Walker website/hyperessay. Live music performed by Somi, also in a special Northrop Jazz: Live at the Campus Club concert on October 22. Artists and programs subject to change. Contains nudity. PROGRAM INFORMATION FOR OCTOBER 24 PERFORMANCE OF URBAN BUSH WOMEN Choreographed by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar in collaboration with the company Directed by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar Dancers: Kanisha Brown, Marjani Forté, Christine King, Kendra Ross, Samantha Speis, Laurie Taylor, Keisha Turner, Bennalldra Williams Guest Artists: Beverly Botsford, percussionist; Somi, vocalist, composer; Pyeng Threadgill, vocalist, composer Music: “Body and Soul” by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton & Johhny Green performed by David Murray Quartet; “St. Louis Blues” by WC Handy; “An Orbit of Skirts” and “Shake What Your Mama Gave Ya” music and lyrics by Pyeng Threadgill; “Wind Chant” and “Let Me” music and lyrics by Somi Spoken Text: “We Come Here for the Dreams” written by Jewelle Gomez; and “Haikus #28, #29, #79, #102, and #107” written by Kalamu ya Salaam Costumes: Matthew Hemesath and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar Lighting Design: Susan Hamburger Created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the company, this retrospective is a collage that connects past ideas to present sensibilities. It is a revisiting of the personal narrative as a source of power and how the personal informs the collective narrative. Through Zollar: Uncensored, she revisits an area of investigation that came under attack in the Jesse Helms era of censorship. About Jawole Willa Jo Zollar | Founding Artistic Director/Choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar is a 2008 United States Artist Wynn Fellow and recently appointed Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. She was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, and trained with Joseph Stevenson, a student of the legendary Katherine Dunham. Zollar received a B.A. in dance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and an M.F.A. in dance from Florida State University. In 1980 she moved to New York City to study with Dianne McIntyre at Sounds in Motion and then founded Urban Bush Women (UBW) in 1984. In addition to creating 33 repertory works for UBW, Zollar has created choreography for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet Arizona, Philadanco, University of Maryland, University of Florida, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Virginia Commonwealth University, Towson University, and others. Her many positions as a teacher and speaker include Worlds of Thought resident scholar at Mankato State University (1993-94), regents lecturer in the departments of dance and world arts and culture at UCLA (1995-96), visiting artist at Ohio State University (1996), and the Abramowitz Memorial lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1998). She was named Alumna of the Year by University of Missouri (1993) and Florida State University (1997), and awarded an honorary doctorate by Columbia College, Chicago (2002). In 2005 the Kennedy Center honored Zollar with a Master of African American Choreography citation. In 2006 she was recognized with a New York Dance & Performance award, a BESSIE, for her choreography of the Pearl Primus-inspired dance, Walking With Pearl…Southern Diaries. The National Endowment also recognized this work for the Arts as an American Masterpiece: Dance – College Component. She is a former board member of Dance/USA, the national dance service organization based in Washington, DC, and member of the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD). Zollar has received the Martin Luther King Distinguished Service Award from Florida State University, where she holds a tenured position as the Nancy Smith Fichter Professor in the Department of Dance. Zollar also directs the annual UBW Summer Leadership Institute. About Urban Bush Women Urban Bush Women (UBW) is proudly based in Brooklyn, New York. The company has been presented extensively in New York City and has traveled throughout the United States and to Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and South America. UBW was selected by the U.S. State Department as one of three U.S. dance companies to inaugurate its DanceMotion USA cultural exchange program and returned to South America in March 2010 for this program. Festival appearances include Jacob’s Pillow, Spoleto USA, National Black Arts Festival, Dance Umbrella UK and Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival. UBW has been commissioned by major presenters nationwide and counts among its honors a 2004 Doris Duke Award for New Work from the American Dance Festival. The company’s repertory consists of 33 works choreographed by Zollar including collaborations with jazz artist David Murray; poets Laurie Carlos and Carl Hancock Rux; directors Steve Kent and Elizabeth Herron; and the National Song and Dance Company of Mozambique (supported by The Ford Foundation’s Africa Exchange Program). In 2008 the company toured to 23 U.S. cities including New York City (the prestigious BAM Next Wave Festival), and to Canada and Germany with “Les écailles de la mémoire (The Scales of Memory),” an evening-length work created in collaboration with Germaine Acogny and her all- male Compagnie Jant-Bi of Senegal. UBW uses art to create works for the concert stage and in community settings as a part of their community engagement work. Long-term community engagement residencies culminating in public performances have been produced in New Orleans, Sarasota, Philadelphia, New Haven, Tallahassee, Riverside (California), and Flint (Michigan). Each summer UBW produces and hosts its Summer Leadership Institute, an intensive training program in dance and community engagement for artists with leadership potential interested in building community, addressing issues of social justice and developing a community focus in their art-making. In 2009 the Institute was relocated to New Orleans where UBW seeks to contribute to the city's re-building effort in partnership with local artists and activists. About the Performers: Christine King (Associate Artistic Director/Performer) is originally from Michigan and holds a B.A. in dance. She has performed in New York City for over a decade with artists including Claire Porter, Trinket Monsod, Kaleidescope Dancers, and Amy Sue Rosen. She has also performed as a vocalist with Ancient Vibrations, Amasong, and as singer/actress with Skeleton Dance Project. Aside from originating and performing many roles with UBW, King appeared as an actor in a McGregor/Smith production of Blood Dazzler. She has studied dance with Sara Sugihara, William Adair and Dan Wagner and has studied singing with Diane Barclay, Artie Sheppard, Toshi Reagon, and many others. King is proud to be a long-standing performer with UBW and wishes to thank these artists and many others for their encouragement and love. King has been with UBW for over 20 years. Kanisha Opal Brown (Dancer) born and raised in Los Angeles, California, began dancing as a liturgical dancer through her church, Glory Christian Fellowship International. On behalf of her church, she toured nationally and internationally teaching hip-hop classes. She holds a BA in Dance from the University of California, Riverside, and an MFA in dance from Florida State University. Brown has worked and trained with various artists including Gerri Houlihan, Lynda Davis, Susan Rose, Wendy Rogers, Timothy Glenn, Alan Danielson, and A'Keitha Carey. Brown joined UBW in 2010. Marjani Forté (Dancer) is a performer, instructor and choreographer and a graduate of Los Angeles High School for the Arts. She earned a degree in business marketing and a second major in dance from Loyola Marymount University. Her early training was with Los Angeles master instructors and choreographers Karen McDonald, Stephen Semien, Ka-Ron Brown- Lehman, ballet master Don Hewitt, and modern dance pioneer Rudy Perez. She later studied at the Ailey School when she moved to New York in 2004. Forté has worked with Earl Mosely, Garth Fagan, and Nia Love’s Blacksmith’s Daughter. She has premiered works by acclaimed choreographers Blondell Cummings and Camille Brown. Forté joined UBW in 2006.