The award-winning and critically acclaimed Urban Bush Women performs as part of the UNCW Arts in Action Performance Series at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14 in Kenan Auditorium. Founded in 1984 by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Urban Bush Women is dedicated to the use of cultural expression as a catalyst for social change. The company weaves contemporary dance, music, and text with the history, culture, and spiritual traditions of African Americans and the African Diaspora, exploring the transformation of struggle and suffering into the bittersweet joy of survival.
Urban Bush Women has performed extensively in New York City and has toured throughout the United States and in Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America. The company has been commissioned by presenters nationwide, and includes among its honors a 1992 New York Dance and Performance Award ("Bessie"); the 1994 Capezio Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance; and 1998 and 2004 Doris Duke Awards for New Work from the American Dance Festival.
Urban Bush Women's Community Engagement Projects consistently partner the ensemble with local presenters, area artists and community residents to bring the untold and under told histories of their communities forward through performance art. It is this community-focused vision that drives the aesthetic of the company.
For the UNCW performance, the company's repertory with a social conscience includes Walking with Pearl…Africa Diaries, inspired by African American dance pioneer/social activist Pearl Primus, which premiered at the American Dance Festival. Writing in The Herald-Sun (Durham, NC), Susan Broili noted, "The premiere ends with a body shout, a rhythmic foot-stomping and body-slapping expression of undefeatable human spirit." Girlfriends was made by Zollar in 1986 as a way to honor the camaraderie and bonds of friendship shared with college girlfriends. Girlfriends captures intimate moments of joy, sorrow, encouragement and outright silliness amongst those close friends you can always depend on. The company's newest work, Naked City, references the late '50s film noir television series, Naked City, and the stories of life in NYC. Naked City explores rants, alienation, protest, and ultimately celebration through a humorous and sometimes dark lens. It is inspired by the images of Toni Morrison's novel Jazz and the paintings of Ernie Barnes.
Prominently featured in the PBS Documentary "Free to Dance", which chronicles the African American influence on modern dance, Founder Jawole Zollar is a 2008 United States Artists Wynn Fellow and a recently appointed Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, she trained with Joseph Stevenson, a student of the legendary Katherine Dunham. Zollar holds a BA in dance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and an MFA in dance from Florida State University. In addition to repertory for Urban Bush Women, Zollar has created works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and many others.
In addition to the UNCW concert, members of the company will lead an intermediate modern dance master class for ages teens and up on Friday, November 13 from 6:30-8 pm in the UNCW Cultural Arts Building, room 2033 (dance studio). This event is free and open to UNCW students and the public. Space is limited to 25 participants. Registration is required by emailing artsinaction@uncw.edu or calling 910.962.7600.
BOX OFFICE AND TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to the performance are $20 for the general public; $16 for senior citizens and UNCW employees; $8 for non-UNCW students; and $6 for UNCW students. Group discounts are available. Call Kenan Box Office at 910.962.3500 or 800.732.3643 outside the Wilmington area or visit www.uncw.edu/presents. Box office hours are Noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday and one hour prior to the event.
About Arts in Action Performance Series
The Arts in Action Performance Series seeks to culturally enrich, educate and entertain both students and the Wilmington community through the presentation of diverse programs featuring professional, high-quality performing artists. The series is supported by grants from the North Carolina Arts Council, a Division of the Department of Cultural Resources with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Southern Arts Federation in partnership with National Endowment for the Arts.
