Red Clay Dance Will Present Three World Premieres

Red Clay Dance Company (RCDC), which creates and performs a diverse repertoire of Afro-contemporary dance, considers the question, "How do our bodies manifest the world around and through us?" in its spring 2020 program "Visions & Voices," featuring three world premieres. Performances are April 3 and 4, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. at the Harold Washington Cultural Center, 4701 S. King Drive, Chicago. Following the Friday, April 3 performance, RCDC hosts its annual Paint the Town Red fundraiser party.

The world premiere of INCARNATION 1 by New York choreographer Du'Bois A'Keen explores the body as archive, altar and access point, set in the present-future but experienced in retrospect, caught in time lapse. The work asks: How do we prepare ourselves to be good ancestors? What are we downloading to pass on? The work is set to music by Kingsley Ibeneche, Moses Sumney, Shake, and Jessie Reyez; costumes concept is by Cam A'Keen, styled by KFleye.

Philadelphia choreographer Lela Aisha Jones's world premiere we:all ~ gon' die into revivals is artistic/soulful labor that expresses dreams for blackness and reciprocity with the natural environment.

Fake News!, a world premiere devised by RCDC Artistic Director and artivist Vershawn Sanders-Ward in response to the 2016 "election," re-examines ideals of capitalism, democracy, immigration and our dangerous obsession with power and media. Also on the program is Harvester, a solo Sanders-Ward is developing as a 2019 Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist, that breaks open the spirit of "womynhood" and reveals the fullness of her existence, unbound by the projections of others.

Following the Friday, April 3 performance, RCDC's annual Paint the Town Red fundraiser party in the Cultural Center lobby features food, drinks, vibes by DJ Nick Nonstop, more dancing, and an opportunity to celebrate with the dancers. Funds raised during this event, hosted by RCDC's board of directors, support the company's mission to provide access to world-class dance for all people through performances, classes, and community engagement events.

Red Clay Dance Company lives to awaken "glocal" change through creating, performing, and teaching dances of the African Diaspora-change that transforms cultural and socioeconomic inequities in our local and global community. Founder Vershawn Sanders-Ward conceived the idea of RCDC while on her first trip to Senegal, West Africa, when she became fascinated by the interconnectedness of dance and everyday life. The name Red Clay comes from her childhood memories of playing in red earth during her summers in Mobile, Alabama.

RCDC is supported by the Chicago Community Trust, the Alphawood Foundation, the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H Driehaus Foundation, the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Springboard Foundation, the Polk Bros. Foundation, and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

Information:

Red Clay Dance Company presents "Visions & Voices"
Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m.
at the Harold Washington Cultural Center, 4701 S. King Dr., Chicago.
General admission tickets are $28 ($35 after 2/28),
$22 for seniors and students ($29 after 2/28).
A VIP/Red Carpet package for the Friday, April 3 performance and post-show
Paint the Town Red fundraiser is $100 ($125 after 2/28).
Tickets are available at redclaydance.com.performances.
All programming is subject to change.

For more information about RCDC, visit redclaydance.com.

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