Urban Bush Women : twenty years of African American dance theater, community engagement, and working it out / Nadine George-Graves.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

George-Graves, Nadine.

Series:

Studies in dance history (Unnumbered)

Studies in dance history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dance companies--New York (State)--New York--History.

Dance companies.

African American dance--New York (State)--New York--History.

African American dance.

Urban Bush Women (Dance company)--History.

Urban Bush Women (Dance company).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (250 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Madison, Wis. : University of Wisconsin Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Provocative, moving, powerful, explicit, strong, unapologetic. These are a few words that have been used to describe the groundbreaking Brooklyn-based dance troupe Urban Bush Women. Their unique aesthetic borrows from classical and contemporary dance techniques and theater characterization exercises, incorporates breath and vocalization, and employs space and movement to instill their performances with emotion and purpose. Urban Bush Women concerts are also deeply rooted in community activism, using socially conscious performances in places around the country--from the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Center, and the Joyce, to community centers and school auditoriums--to inspire audience members to engage in neighborhood change and challenge stereotypes of gender, race, and class. Nadine George-Graves presents a comprehensive history of Urban Bush Women since their founding in 1984. She analyzes their complex work, drawing on interviews with current and former dancers and her own observation of and participation in Urban Bush Women rehearsals. This illustrated book captures the grace and power of the dancers in motion and provides an absorbing look at an innovative company that continues to raise the bar for socially conscious dance.

Contents:

Introduction: working dance

Development: core values, process, and style

The Body: divided and conquered

The Word: black magic realism

The World: shelter from the heat

The Soul: the spirit moves

The Community: in theory and practice

Coda: by blood, through dance.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612579400

9781282579408

1282579401

9780299235536

029923553X

OCLC:

646068543