Category — BAM Urban Bush Women

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              On a bitter cold evening my class met at BAM in Downtown Brooklyn to watch the final show of the semester, a dance performance called “Urban Bush Women”.  When I entered the building I felt a sense of awe at the beauty of the structure. BAM is a glimpse into the old Brooklyn, a place rich with culture.

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The Urban Bush Women dance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music was a unique and interesting interpretation of a traditional dance performance. The show combined traditional African dance with modern technique and contemporary themes. The themes however, were not portrayed that clearly and while the dance was superb and quite intricate and impressive the story line was not. [Read more →]

For years the Brooklyn Academy of Music has hosted some of the most brilliant and inspiring productions on stage, as well as musical and cinematic performances. Dozens of composers, musicians, and directors have set foot in this marvelous building to provide culturally enriching experiences for over 500,000 visitors annually. In a limited engagement this fall, the Urban Bush Women came to BAM to tell their story of the African Diaspora through dance. Germaine Acogny and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar put together a wonderful mixed cast of native Senegalese and African American dancers and set the stage alive with heart-throbbing music and lighting to create a joyful, cultural experience. [Read more →]

 
          Performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on November 19, 2008 was Les écailles de la mémoire (The Scales of Memory) by Brooklyn’s Urban Bush Women and the men of Compagnie Jant-Bi from Senegal.
          The dance opens with all fourteen dancers standing in two rows staring out at the audience expressionless. They then begin to move in excruciatingly slow motion. The audience is engaged, but soon becomes eager and restless after what seems almost ten minutes before they take their first step. The dancers begin speaking in their mother tongue, introducing themselves and their lineage. As suggested by the title, the dance attempts to convey the message of accepting the past in order to have fulfillment in the present. However, this moving message and storyline failed to translate through the dancing.

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     People were starting to get restless. It was the opening night of Les ecailles de la memoire (The scales of memory) at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the show was already ten minutes late in getting started. However, once the theater went dark and the music started to play, all that frustration melted away and all that was left was awe. Les ecailles de la memoire is a show filled with breathtaking music, astonishing dance, and a sincere story about the culture of a people. [Read more →]

About the picture: http://blog.oregonlive.com/ent_impact_performance/2008/04/large_ubw_jant-bi2.jpg

Probably the most incomprehensible life to us city people is the life of bush women. It is no surprise then that audiences of Les ecailles de la memoire (The Scales of Memory) are still left confused about what they’ve seen in the performance. [Read more →]

The performance opens up with a group of men and women who start to move in slow motion. As they move forward, one woman starts to announce the name of her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. The others behind her begin to speak as well, stating their family names in their own language. One voice became many, and the chaos of layered declarations, filled the background of the stage with memories, like scales. “Les Ecailles de la Memoire” (The Scales of Memory) is a dance performance that seizes the imagination, leaves you on the edge of your seat, and thrills you in the moment. [Read more →]