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Comin' On Over: The Legacies of the Urban Bush Women |
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Hyperessay
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In the summer of 1998, the Walker Art Center commissioned the Urban Bush Women and the David Murray Octet to join forces to create a new dance-jazz work titled Soul Deep--a large-scale piece melding the organic, powerful, contemporary movement-theater of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar's remarkable company with composer/saxophonist Murray's explosive large-ensemble new-jazz sound. The Walker's Performing Arts Department has a long-standing commitment to the Urban Bush Women, commissioning two previous works (Praise House and Bones & Ash) and presenting the company five times since 1988.
The company was in residence in Minneapolis from May 1-12, 1999, to develop Soul Deep, and was joined for the final six days by the full David Murray Octet. The project was the final installment of a spring 1999 Walker series titled Common Time: New Collaborations in Jazz and Dance, which was dedicated to helping reestablish the link between black modern and postmodern dance and contemporary jazz by forging new partnerships between the vanguard artists in these fields.
To further contextualize and support Soul Deep, the Walker commissioned dance scholar Ananya Chatterjea, assistant professor at the University of Minnesota's Dance Department, and local Web designer Ahree Lee to produce this hyperessay about the Urban Bush Women. The essay takes a closer look at many of the Urban Bush Women's dances and includes numerous video clips of past performances.
Comin' On Over: The Legacies of the Urban Bush Women
http://www.walkerart.org/pa/ubw/