Urban Bush Women/Compagnie Jant-Bi
Artistic Directors: Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Germaine Acogny
Wednesday, April 2, 2008, 7:30pm
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
"The Scales of Memory"
An Extraordinary Collaboration between Seven Powerful Women from Brooklyn and Seven Dynamic Men from Senegal.
Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
Led by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and based in Brooklyn, New York, Urban Bush Women is a company of seven charismatic women who have sought to bring the untold and under-told histories and stories of disenfranchised people to light through dance. Twice appearing in the White Bird/PSU Dance Series, they perform a repertory suffused with furious energy and sexual freedom. Compagnie Jant-Bi is based in Senegal, West Africa and comprised of seven powerful men. Their Artistic Director is Germaine Acogny, called “The Mother of African Contemporary Dance,” who has developed a dance technique combining traditional West African dance with elements of classical ballet and Western modern dance, hailed for “rhythm, dynamism, presence and fluidity” (Dance Insider). The two unique companies will meet in an unforgettable full-evening work that will focus on the themes of differing cultural landscapes and artistic exchange.
www.urbanbushwomen.org www.jant-bi-acogny.com