"I attended opening night and found that throughout this performance, Urban Bush Women strategically invoked consideration of the company's legacy within the context of the United States. This is Risk did not shy away from subjects of genocide, enslavement, forced migration, and the harms of eurocentrism, while also adamantly underscoring the web of African Diaspora that runs through ancestral memory - shaping both present-day realities and collective futures."
"The company's attention to legacy even extends to their detailed program notes, which list the original dancers on each piece of repertoire performed. Though I have reviewed plenty of dance shows in big theaters with fancy print programs, I have never before noted this level of care and attention to individual dancers' past contributions to works that live on in performance."
Urban Bush Women presented This Is Risk for their 40th anniversary at Portland's Newmark Theater February 5–7, sharing a recent work by Vincent E. Thomas followed by repertory from Jawole Willa Jo Zollar from 1989 and 1995. The performance invoked the company's legacy within the United States context and confronted genocide, enslavement, forced migration, and eurocentrism while emphasizing an African Diaspora web running through ancestral memory that shapes present realities and collective futures. Program notes listed original dancers for each piece, demonstrating careful archival attention to individual contributions. The evening opened with Thomas's Contemplations on Legacy set to Cathy L. Draine's spoken poetry and percussive music.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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