Premiere of VISIBLE/INVISIBLE: NAKED CITY Plays Harlem Stage, 10/29

Harlem Stage, a performing arts center and one of the country's top presenters, producers, and supporters of works by artists of color, presents 'visible/invisible: Naked City,' the Harlem-focused first section of a new contemporary dance piece being created by acclaimed choreographers Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Founder and Artistic Director of Urban Bush Women, and 2007 BESSIE Award-winner Nora Chipaumire.

'Naked City' is part of a new commission from Harlem Stage's WaterWorks initiative, created to support major new works and engage audiences in the creative process through intimate contact with artists. Audiences will see excerpts from the work in progress, and take part in a dynamic participatory exchange to explore the themes of the work by posing questions, sharing stories, giving feedback and reflecting on the work to date.

'visible/invisible: Naked City' premieres at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse on Thursday, October 29 at 7:30pm. The performance blends stories and dance into an exploration of the alienation, protests, and celebrations that transpired during the Great Migration (when African-Americans moved from the south to cities throughout the country) along with stories of immigrants whose immersion into American urban centers birthed new cultural art forms. 'Naked City' concerns how Great Migration movements and stories shaped the community of Harlem. Members of Urban Bush Women will perform 'visible/invisible: Naked City,' which will be followed by an audience discussion with Zollar and Chipaumire.

Earlier that day, October 29, Zollar and Chipaumire will work with Harlem community members and invited artists, with the intent to uncover new ideas and concepts that can be woven into the piece. The evening presentation of Naked City by Urban Bush Women will showcase the piece as it currently exists, with a post-show conversation expected to mine more stories about Harlem, its culture and its people, to further inform the work.

"This is such a rare and exciting way to build a new dance," says Patricia Cruz, Executive Director of Harlem Stage. "For Harlem artists and citizens, as well as Harlem Stage audiences all to be part of an artistic creation with two brilliant choreographers thrills us all. Jawole and Nora are determined to involve the community as they evolve this work about an important piece of American history that includes everyone's history."

In explaining the genesis of the new work, Zollar says "Naked City was inspired initially by three major sources: the 1950s noir TV series also called ‘Naked City'; Toni Morrison's novel Jazz; and painter Jacob Lawrence's monumental work from the 1940s, Migration Series. These works share the stories and images of restless people, people who moved from the south to the north with high hopes. They express the mixed emotions of a struggle to create new communities.

"In many ways this work, and this process, will be a fresh departure for me as I continue to redefine myself as a choreographic director," Zollar says. "I appreciate Harlem Stage's support, and the opportunity to partner again with an institution that has been significant to my work over the years."

"As someone who came to New York City from Zimbabwe, I'm very excited by this project," Chipaumire says. "Jawole and I enjoy playing with concepts, and inviting other artists and other voices into the collaboration process. Our ‘collab/lab' process, as we call it. By working with artists in various mediums, and talking with people from the local community, we hope to create a powerful work -- rich and multi-layered, with elements of movement, sound, and visual design."

'Naked City' forms the foundation of a ten-year process to create a larger conceptual work called visible/invisible, which will build with new pieces related to cities throughout the United States. An evening-length version of 'Naked City' is planned to debut at Harlem Stage in 2012.

In order to produce a piece with historical depth and cohesive clarity, the choreographers say they will proceed in several specific phases. The first phase is research -- in each featured city, Zollar and Chipaumire will explore the themes of the Great Migration, immigration, undocumented/underclass workers' rights, and the creation of urban culture. In addition to research in Harlem, the choreographers will visit New Orleans, Chicago and Kansas City.

Phase two involves the previously mentioned "collab/labs" - collaborative workshops with other artists that Zollar says are designed to foment the creation of a multidisciplinary team and bring powerful and groundbreaking visions to life. Dancers, composers, writers, and visual designers will be part of the process.

The third phase incorporates the rehearsal process and premiere of 'Naked City' at Harlem Stage, and the development of a second visible/invisible target city. Finally, a planned tour of 'visible/invisible' begins the creation process anew in other cities.

Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Founding Artistic Director of Urban Bush Women, is a 2008 United States Artists Wynn Fellow and a recently appointed Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, she trained with Joseph Stevenson, a student of the legendary Katherine Dunham. Zollar holds a BA in dance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and an MFA in dance from Florida State University. In 1980, she moved to New York City to study with Dianne McIntyre at Sounds in Motion. She founded Urban Bush Women (UBW) in 1984. In addition to UBW, her choreography is part of the repertory of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and a number of university companies.

Zollar is the Nancy Smith Fichter tenured professor in the Dance Department of Florida State University. She was prominently featured in the PBS Documentary "Free to Dance", which chronicles the African American influence on modern dance. In June 2002, Zollar was awarded an honorary doctorate from Columbia College in Chicago. Zollar was awarded a 2006 New York Dance and Performance Award, A BESSIE, for her work as choreographer/creator of "Walking With Pearl . . . Southern Diaries." "Southern Diaries" was also recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as an American Masterpiece: Dance - College Component.

Nora Chipaumire was born in Mutare , Zimbabwe during the Chimurenga Chechipiri, or second war of liberation. A self-exiled artist now based in New York, she investigates the collaborative process within cultural, political, economic, and technological identities of African contemporary life. Her work is inspired by art from her native country.

Chipaumire is a Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography 2007-08 Choreographic Fellow. She is a recipient of National Dance Project Tour Support in 2007-08. She also received a Jerome Travel and Study Grant to participate in the JANT-BI Diaspora Project in Toubab Dialaw, Senegal in May and August 2007. Nora was honored with the Mariam McGlone Emerging Choreographer Award from Wesleyan University Center for the Arts in 2007. She is featured in the documentary Movement (R)evolution and is the subject of the documentary-in-progress, Nora Chipaumire: A Physical Biography, directed by Alla Kovgan and David Hinton, supported by a 2007 EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission. Chipaumire is the winner of a 2007 New York Dance and Performance Award, also known as a BESSIE.

The Brooklyn-based Urban Bush Women troupe recently was invited to participate in the DanceMotion program and will tour the South American countries of Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia in 2010.

Harlem Stage is a performing arts center that celebrates and perpetuates the unique and diverse artistic legacy of Harlem and the indelible impression it has made on American culture. The organization provides opportunity, commissioning and support for artists of color, makes performances accessible to all audiences, and introduces children to the rich diversity, excitement and inspiration of the performing arts. In the organization's nearly thirty years, it has hosted many legends including Harry Belafonte, Max Roach, Bill Cosby, Abbey Lincoln, Maya Angelou and Tito Puente, and showcased and nurtured new genius.

In October 2006, Harlem Stage opened The Gatehouse, which marked the beginning of a new era in the institution's history. To celebrate the milestone, the organization adopted a new identity -Harlem Stage - and launched three new programs: WaterWorks; Harlem Stride; and Harlem Stage Partners.

Previous WaterWorks commissions include the award-winning Bill T. Jones piece Chapel/Chapter; Sekou Sundiata's 51st (dream) state; Roger Guenveur Smith's Who Killed Bob Marley?; and Tania Leon's composition Reflections. (These four were commissioned for the inaugural season of the Harlem Stage Gatehouse.) Other projects in development include Makandal, a contemporary opera conceived and written by Carl Hancock Rux; Vijay Iyer's and Mike Ladd's new Holding it Down; and a music theater work by composer Diedre Murray and author Marcus Gardley called The Voice Within, scheduled to debut in 2010.

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at www.HarlemStage.org or by calling the box office at 212-281-9240, ext. 19 or 20.