 Jawole
Willa Jo Zollar probably never gave a second thought to a 20th anniversary
celebration when Urban Bush Women debuted two decades ago. Day-to-day
survival was more on her mind. And day by day, Zollar managed to
build something completely unique, a company of seven vibrant African
American women, which has managed to both change the perceptions
of body types as well as approaches to performance—both in
form and content. From June 21–26, the company presents a
week of shows at The Joyce Theater, featuring some of the troupe’s
most beloved works, as well as two new dances.
The enduring inspiration of African
American dance pioneer Pearl Primus is celebrated in the New York
premiere of “Walking With Pearl–Africa Diaries,”
accompanied by a combination of compelling African music and a reading
of searing poetry and observations from Primus’s unpublished
writings. “My life has been a quest…a search for roots.
The journey has taken me deep into the cultures of many people in
many countries of the world,” is one of the telling notations
from Primus’s journal that sets the tone of the work. Episodic
in structure, the powerful—at times lyrical—work evokes
Primus’s indestructible spirit through a series of short narratives
resonating with images of loss and mortality, caring and fierce
love revealed through a blend of African and modern dance and ballet.
“Batty Moves,” whose rambunctious
spirit is part of the UBW signature, celebrates womens’ booties
or “batty,” as they’re called in the Caribbean.
In this uproarious and fun-filled extravaganza of the female rear,
the performers rap out their batty biographies. Example: “I’m
an African American/of the Seminole tribe/My legs are big and my
hips are wide/I’m fierce and strong/but I’m sweet and
shy/Back home they call me Coffee/’cause I grind so fine.”
The special season also features two
signature Zollar works: “Girlfriends,” the 1986 hit
that sends up the relationships between college roommates, and “Give
Your Hands to Struggle,” the poignant solo from Zollar’s
1998 “Hands Singing Song” danced to music by Bernice
Johnson Reagon.
Urban Bush Women recently created
Project Next Generation, a choreographic competition to encourage
young female dance artists. “Sacred Vessel,” commissioned
from Next Generation’s first winner, Bridget L. Moore, will
also be seen as part of UBW’s Joyce engagement. The music
for this spiritually inspiring work is by Eric Casillas, Ya-ta-Hey
and Svar.
Artistic Director Jawole Willa Jo
Zollar, who grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, graduated from the
University of Missouri at Kansas City with a B.A. in dance and earned
an M.F.A. in dance from Florida State University before moving to
New York in 1980 to study with Dianne McIntyre at Sounds in Motion.
Just four years later, Zollar founded Urban Bush Women. Zollar has
choreographed 30 works for her own company, as well as dances for
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet Arizona, Philadanco,
University of Maryland, University of Florida and Dayton Contemporary
Dance Company, among others.
She was featured in the PBS Documentary
“Free to Dance,” which chronicles the African American
influence on modern dance, and her solo dancing is highlighted in
the original HBO documentary “Beah – A Black Woman Speaks.”
Zollar was awarded a 2002 honorary doctorate from Columbia College
in Chicago, and named Alumna of the Year by both the University
of Missouri (1993) and Florida State University (1997). A recipient
of the Martin Luther King Distinguished Service Award from Florida
State University, Zollar holds the tenured position of Nancy Smith
Fichter Professor in the school’s dance department.
Throughout its 20-year history, Urban
Bush Women has performed extensively in New York City, as well as
throughout the United States, Asia, Australia, Europe and South
America. The Brooklyn-based company has been honored with a 1992
New York Dance and Performance Award (“Bessie”), the
1994 Capezio Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance and a 1998
Doris Duke Award for New Work from the American Dance Festival.
As one of their community-based projects, Urban Bush Women, in partnership
with Florida State University, established the Summer Dance Institute
in 1997 to offer intensive training for young artists looking to
focus on community in their work. In 2004, the troupe revived the
Institute in Brooklyn.
Just prior to its week at The Joyce
Theater, Urban Bush Women will perform at the American Dance Festival
in Durham, NC (June 14–15). Following the Joyce engagement,
the company will perform in Sacramento, CA (September 3); Basel,
Switzerland (September 26–27); and as part of City Center’s
“Fall For Dance Festival” this fall.
The opening night curtain for Urban
Bush Women’s Joyce Theater season, on Tuesday, is at 7:30pm;
Wednesday through Saturday, the show begins at 8pm. On Sunday evening,
the performance is at 7:30pm. There will also be a 2pm matinee on
Sunday. Tickets are $36. All tickets are available at The Joyce
Theater box office, by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or online
at www.joyce.org. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue
at 19th Street.
###
This season is made possible with generous support from Altria Group,
Inc. Public funds are provided by the National Endowment for the
Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and New
York City's Department of Cultural Affairs.
052005
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