Contemporary dance company Urban Bush Women celebrates its 40th anniversary this year; on February 24 they bring Legacy + Lineage + Liberation to The Purchase PAC. This evening of iconic works amplifies the voices of Women(+) of color, and showcases UBW’s great sense of musicality and reflection inside of empathy and joy. We invite you to learn more about the pieces on the program and join us on the 24th for a transformative experience.

I Don’t Know But I Been Told…If You Keep on Dancin You Never Grow Old
When was this dance made?
This work was created in 1989 in response to conversation among dance presenters that complained about the lack of dance in public schools. Jawole recognized that there was a great deal of dance in the public schools and in the community. Rather than a lack of art, there was a failure to recognize and legitimize the rich culture that existed.
What is this dance about?
This work was also inspired by a three-month research engagement trip in New Orleans where Jawole and company experienced dance and music strongly integrated in the community.
What makes this dance unique?
This dance is a celebration of people who dance in schools, streets, clubs, and communities. “People who keep the spirit of dance alive all over the world.” (Jawole Zollar)

Give Your Hands to Struggle
When was this dance made?
The dance was made in 1998, as part of a longer work called Hand Singing Song.
What is this dance about?
The dance is a tribute to Civil rights leaders whose work contributed to a better future for all of us. the title is based on a speech by Adam Clayton Powell, “What’s In Your Hands.”
What makes this dance unique?
The entire dance is based on moving one body part, the hands. even though the movement goes through the whole body, the hand is the body part that is most
focused on. At the beginning of the dance, the names of important artists and Civil rights leaders who have died are read.

Women’s Resistance
When was this dance made?
The collaboration between Compagnie Jant-bi and Urban Bush Women happened over three years with several trips back and forth between the United States and Senegal. Women’s Resistance is an excerpt from Les écailles de la mémoire (The Scales of Memory) which premiered on January 17, 2008.
What is this dance about?
The larger work has two choreographers, Jawole Zollar and Germaine Acogny (Artistic Director of Compagnie Jant-bi). They worked together to create a dance for both of their companies around three themes: love, resistance, and memory. One of the dance companies is made up of women and one is all men. Of course, UBW is an American dance company, while Compagnie Jant-bi is based in Senegal. Les écailles de la mémoire explores the shared history of dancers in the two companies, as well as the meaning of our differences through the three themes. The Women’s Resistance section is performed by Urban Bush Women. the other company has their own resistance section in the piece. In ours, we explore various ways of saying “no” and standing our ground. We use raised fists and fierce jumps, but we also include stillness to exemplify strength and determination. As women and people of color, there are historical events we have in common wherein we had to be strong and utilize resistance. Each dancer also tells her own personal resistance story in the dance.
What makes this dance unique?
There is a lot of floor work in this piece; the dancers jump high into the air, but we also dance on the floor, making low shapes with our bodies. We spend a lot of time in the dance studio practicing how to move safely from standing to being on the floor. The level changes in Women’s Resistance make it an athletic and dynamic piece, and also relate to the themes of resourcefulness and adaptability. The color palette of the costumes is also special. Naoko Nagata, the costume designer, used red to symbolize resistance. that is why each dancer has an element of red in her costume. Naoko did not want us to all look the same though, since we each have our own personality and our own resistance movements. She gave our costumes one unifying element.

Haint Blu: Episode 1 – Listenin’ and Dreamin’: Do You Hear Me Now?
When was this dance made?
Episode 1 is excerpted from Haint Blu, an evening-length site-responsive work built in and with communities over time. It is the newest dance on the program, it was developed in 2023.
What is this work about?
Known as the color that Southern families paint their front porches to ward off bad spirits, Haint Blu uses performance as a center and source of healing, taking us through movement into stillness and rest: remembering, reclaiming, releasing, and restoring. It is an embodied look into familial lines and the movements, histories and stories of our elders and ancestors. It reflects on what has been lost across generations and what can be recovered. Haint Blu takes us to the magical place where spirits share their legacies, journey onward, and leave the thick residue of their knowing behind.
What makes this dance unique?
Haint Blu is an ensemble dance-theater work. It is immersive, site-responsive, and community-driven. The Haint Blu experience takes the audience through non-traditional performance spaces, and geographical sites chosen in collaboration with community and presenting partners. Honoring and absorbing local history, each Haint Blu performance is a container of moments that are unique to each community. The excerpt you will see here is a stage version of this larger project.

For tickets to see Urban Bush Women at The Purchase PAC, please click here to visit our website.

Descriptions are from the Urban Bush Women Study Guide. (C) Urban Bush Women