The Dance Brigade a New Group from Wallflower Order & Nkeiruka Oruche

Program Area(s)
Grantee NameThe Dance Brigade a New Group from Wallflower Order
Address3316 24th Street
San Francisco CA, 94110
United States
Websitehttp://dancemission.com/
Description

“Wey You Dey?” (pidgin in English for “Where were you?) is a dance-theater performance piece, guided by the title’s question, that asks people of the diaspora to reflect on a specific moment in their lives and to create a story about that moment. Choreographer and performer Nkeiruka Oruche is collaborating with Dance Brigade’s Dance Mission Theater alongside vocalist Tossie Long, musician Nate Cameron, director Michael French, anthropologist Ugo Edu, and poet Teju Adisa-Farrar. They will gather narratives based on the question and develop an evening-length show that incorporates movement, storytelling, and media. Dance Mission Theater is an established cultural institution in the heart of San Francisco with a roster of more than 20 teaching and performing artists of African descent, but it is more strongly identified with feminist and Latinx arts. Collaborating with Oruche pushes the organization to question how it also can serve black communities authentically. A Nigerian of Igbo descent, Nkeiruka Oruche is a multidisciplinary producer and performer specializing in the expressions of urban culture of the African Diaspora and its intersections with personal identity, public health, and sociopolitical action. She co-founded BoomShake, a community organization that uses street drumming as a tool for cultural survival and social justice, and she is the artistic director of Afro Urban Society, a meeting place for urban African art, culture, and people. “Wey You Dey?” will premiere at Dance Mission Theater in November 2018.

Grant Amount$40000
Project Dates07/31/18 - 03/31/19
Serving United States/California/San Francisco/San Francisco

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