DanceHouse Presents Fine Theatre

Posted by
Lori Henry
Nov 9, 2008

DanceHouse makes its debut presentation of the Urban Bush Women and Compagnie Jant-Bi collaboration. Fourteen dancers from Brooklyn, New York, and Senegal took the Vancouver audience on a wild ride through their African Diaspora roots and feisty moves.

Choreographers Germaine Acogny and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, along with collaboration from the dancers, create an electrifying evening of dance. Part traditional African dance, sans its “folkloric trappings,” and infused with contemporary Western movement, the dancers explore what it means to experience the world from the same ancestry, yet different cultures.

They use their voices, bodies, movement and stillness to interact with each other and the audience. Side lighting and ceiling spotlights create a setting of underground separation. Microphones on the floor allow the dancer’s feet to enhance the music with their shuffling and stamping.

The women from Urban Bush Women proved their strength and resilience in every turn of the head or hip bounce; the men from Compagnie Jant-Bi used their guttural movement and masculine sass to stand up to the female energy. They were all phenomenally beautiful.

From insightful solos to bursts of sexual expression, the hips were swaying and bootties bumping in infectious force. Catch the rest of the tour at the below dates and cities.

Les Écailles de la Mémoire (The Scales of Memory)

Presented by DanceHouse and The Cultch