Review: URBAN BUSH WOMEN at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center's Booth Playhouse

The Blumenthal Performing Arts Center is hosting its first annual Charlotte International Arts Festival. One of its creative dance performers is the Urban Bush Women (UBW). Celebrating its thirty-eight year anniversary, UBW celebrated the power of women with its Legacy + Lineage + Liberation dance presentation. Tonight, I marveled at the energetic cultural expression of beautiful women of color as they leaped, gyrated, and serenaded us accompanied by the rhythmic beats of various drums and instrumentations. Each act had a story to tell from African liberation to American revolution. Our stories...Our voices...with their unique artistry!

Urban Bush Women was founded by choreographer, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, as a performance ensemble with a goal to be a catalyst for social change. Jawole has worked with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company and was designated a Master of Choreography by the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center in 2005.

Music and dance have always been an integral way to convey messages that make impact and connect with the soul. From dance routines that included: Spells; I Don't Know but I Been Told...if You Keep on Dancin' You Never Grow Old and Hole In The Bottom Sea, we were captivated by mixtures of classical ballet movements to foot-tapping soul with a hint of African dance. Storytelling through bodily motions from sultry crawls to high-stepping kicks, certainly kept us engaged. My only critique is that there should be less pauses between acts; the blank spaces caused patrons to stir and get a bit restless. Nevertheless, it was an entertaining presentation.

Urban Bush Women will present a second performance, Thursday, September 29, at 7:30pm, at The Booth Playhouse. Tickets can be purchased on-line at https://www.blumenthalarts.org/events. The Charlotte International Arts Festival runs through October 2nd. For more information on other planned events and artists visit https://www.charlotteartsfest.com/

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