From the 2023 Moving… Beyond Forward
To the 2024 Our Voices, Our Choices
Returning to the Perelman Theater in December with a program, “Our Voices, Our Choices…This Is Us!” in many ways prepares the audience to speak on the work of choreography that informs us about the channels for civil and difficult topics. The forms and language through black dance, also comes interpretations, and themes of ethnographic research into titles like “An Acceptance for Necessary Endings,” in means of cultural recognition and, an experience with the stories we have never seen, from “A Movement For Five,” takes us into the history of black and brown people in terms of social justice. And the study of movement, looking at these channels through PHILADANCO! for influence.
“An Acceptance of Necessary Endings,” by Martha Nichols
The music of Laura Mvula was influential in the sound, and following the influence into other media, such as music videos. While, in my immediate reaction to the performance I was transported by a stylistic choice in costuming, beautifully well-lit, to communicate a Bollywood interlude of dance and singing, and pure joy.
“My Science,” by Bebe Miller from 2001 was intentional as it was methodical in how the punk, brutally feminist punch introduced with music of La Voix and Led Zeppelin played in to the material. Particularly, the intro of three ladies, and face to face with the male dancers, render with the switch of gender in heterogeneous politics. Both appear too, in the duets which strongly differentiated this form from the first piece. An intrinsic matter of fact, then in dealing with the caption and review of this choreography, entering into a relationship with my work work, my own mind, and even possibly speaking to, “Our Voices, Our Choices… This Is Us!”
A Movement For Five
Choreography by Dawn Marie Bazemore
“Yet our best trained, best educated, best equipped, best prepared troops refuse to fight. Matter of fact, it’s safe to say that they would rather switch than fight.
Thomas TNT Todd
This musical vocal sample, featured in the lyrics by Public Enemy, FIGHT THE POWER was the Breakdown. The hype was real, and lead the energy for 3 sections to dramatically change mood, lightness to darkness, in a transition from section II-III, powerful solo by Floyd McLean Jr. with Andrew Bryant, William E. Burden, Nathan McNatt Jr., and Israel Hilton.
BY Way Of The Funk
Choreography by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar
The final take on ethnographically, rooted, historical, was in how gender becomes something fluid in By Way Of The Funk.
The art shown here was in the spirit, let go, really out of pocket. Effortless with dancers from the shadows to center stage, putting on sunglasses, thrusting, and lounging, intimately touching when it, even a group, the rave-party on stage had individuality in perfect harmony.
