• Being Bushified Series
• Juneteenth

BEING BUSHIFIED!

Being Bushified! is Urban Bush Women’s monthly culture and community series that brings fellow Brooklyn citizens and all New Yorkers into our community through dance workshops, conversations, films and special events that show what a great impact dance has on health and wellness, education, innovative thinking and on forming communities and individuals.

Upcoming Series...

September 14: LOVE|FORTÉ's THE CYPHER
An Improv Jam expanding the mover's palette with playtime

7pm / $15; $12 for students w/ valid ID; $10 with advance RSVP!

In the modern contemporary context The Cypher is an improv circle- challenging, sometimes affirming, but always inspiring. LOVE|FORTÉ (acclaimed dancer Nia Love and UBW's Marjani Forté) is offering students and artists a space to get in and JAM with their friends, colleagues, and some of their favorite (if not admired) artists. Like a party has guest DJ's, we'll welcome Guest JAM Artists as we celebrate, challenge, and discover each other through movement. Check our blog to see this CYPHER'S Guest Jam Artist www.thecypherimprovjam.blogspot.com or our Find Us on Facebook! Search for The Cypher.


Admission: ALWAYS low-cost or no cost!
Refreshments? ALWAYS!!
Location: The Great Room - A.R.T./New York South Oxford Space
138 S. Oxford Street, 2nd Floor
(between Hanson Place and Atlantic Avenue)
Brooklyn, NY
Directions: 1 block from C train to Lafayette
2 blocks from G train to Fulton St.
4 blocks from B/D/M/N/Q/R/2/3/4/5 to Atlantic Station
Information: Call 718.398.4537 or visit www.UrbanBushWomen.org

Past Series...

August 17: Contact Improvisation/Partnering
Building Trust Through Process with Samantha Speis

7pm / $15; $12 for students w/ valid ID; $10 with advance RSVP!

Movement is the essence of freedom. Contact improvisation is a movement language based on the physical principles of touch, momentum, weight sharing and following a shared point of contact. It is an honoring of every moment. Through trust building exercises, you learn to surrender and stay true to what is happening in the moment. We delve into movement conversations that require you to actively listen and speak with all of your senses. This workshop explores falling, rolling, stillness, connecting through focus, counterbalance, lifting using minimal effort, centering and integration of breath, and being attentive to our partner (s) and surroundings.

June 18: 11th annual Fort Greene Juneteenth Arts Festival @ Cuyler Gore Park

12-6pm / FREE

As part of Urban Bush Women's monthly Being Bushified! culture and community series, Urban Bush Women is co-producing the 11th annual Fort Greene Juneteenth Arts Festival with festival founder The Cooperative Culture Collective. Juneteenth is a little-known important event in American history as it is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. The Juneteenth Arts Festival is a free festival celebrating African American history and culture. Last year our Urban Bush Women dancers got the crowd of 600+ up and moving and lead dancer Samantha Speis always brings the energy so plan on joining in! The festival will include performances; tours of Underground Railroad and other historic sites; film and photo exhibits; lectures; local artisans and vendors and participatory activities in dance, music, spoken word and drama. The festival is FREE and will be held on Saturday, June 18 from 12-6pm at Cuyler Gore Park [where Fulton Street meets South Oxford Street and Greene Ave].

May 11: Sak Pasé - Celebrating Brooklyn Haitian Culture & 18! Mai (Haitian Flag Day)
7pm / $12 general public ($10 with advance RSVP); $10 for students w/ valid ID

Black Women's Blueprint and MoCADA team up with UBW to celebrate the profound influence of Haitian culture on Brooklyn arts and activism. Join us for theater, dance and film in anticipation of 18! Mai (Haitian Flag Day). The event will conclude with free wine and refreshments.

April 13: Dancing with Christine King
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar salutes Christine King’s 21-year History with UBW
7pm / $15; $10 for students w/ valid ID (RSVP in advance for a special discount!)

In anticipation of UBW’s tribute to Associate Artistic Director Christine King at Harlem Stage (NYC) on April 30, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar hosts an intimate conversation with Christine about her 21 years performing with UBW as a dancer, vocalist and narrator. Enjoy stories, video, photos, and refreshments in this fun celebratory evening.
 

March 16: Breaks, Beats & Battles
Dance your way from the 80's to now with Bennalldra and Marjani
7pm / $15; $12 for students w/ valid ID; $10 with advance RSVP!

UBW dancers Marjani Forté and Bennalldra Williams lead Breaks, Beats & Battles, a fun participatory examination of history through the lens of African American social dances from the 80’s and 90’s. No experience needed. Come ready to boogie!

February 9: Soul Deep -- Using Movement to Build a Movement
Dance with an Urban Bush woman and learn more about UBW's 2011 Summer Leadership Institute (SLI)
7pm / $15 ($12 for students w/ valid ID)

In this fun evening, enjoy an SLI movement workshop led by UBW company member, Samantha Speis, and hear from past SLI participants about their experiences and great performances (some of which will be shown). The SLI is a 10-day intensive in New Orleans July 22-31 that connects dancers and community-based artists in a learning experience to leverage the use of the arts as a vehicle for social activism and civic engagement. A $500 Black History Month scholarship to the SLI will be raffled on-site (see DETAILS BELOW)!

Attention Summer Leadership Institute applicants:
UBW is raffling off a $500 Black History Month scholarship for one lucky SLI applicant on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at Being Bushified!

How to Enter

Must complete ALL of the following:

1. Submit SLI application and pay application fee by NOON on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 http://urbanbushwomen.org/how_to_apply.php
2. Mention scholarship in application: "Please accept my application in consideration for the Black History Month Scholarship."
3. Attend Being Bushified!, UBW's monthly community & culture series, on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 7pm (Program: SLI movement workshop led by an Urban Bush woman. Admission: $15 / $12 for Students w/ ID)

Winner will be selected at random and announced at the end of February 9 Being Bushified! event.
All entrants who apply and attend will receive a free SLI t-shirt.

Photo credits (top to bottom): image courtesy of LOVE | FORTÉ; image courtesy of Juneteenth.com; photo by Crush Boone; courtesy of mapsoftheworld.com; photo by Rose Eichenbaum; photo by Crush Boone; postcard design by PopShop Studio.