FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pictured (L-R) Julie Crothers, Joan Lazarus, Rose Huey, Sue Li Jue and Jeni Leary of Sarah Bush Dance Project in HOME; Photograph by Lisa Harding
SARAH BUSH DANCE PROJECT ANNOUNCES
10th ANNIVERSARY SEASON WITH
WORLD PREMIERE OF
HOMEWARD
DECEMBER 9, 10, 16, and 17, 2017
SHAWL ANDERSON DANCE CENTER, BERKELEY
New work explores the ideal of home – safe, solid, reliable, personal — and then, just like that, it can be gone. You have time to grab one suitcase – what do you put inside?
Tickets on sale now at http://www.sarahbushdance.org/tickets
OAKLAND, CA – October 26, 2017 — Sarah Bush Dance Project today announces the World Premiere of Homeward, choreographed by Artistic Director Sarah Bush, about the variety and emotional complexity of the places and states we call “home,” performed by a multi-generational cast of Bay Area dance luminaries, including Joan Lazarus and Sue Li Jue. These performances of Homeward mark the 10th anniversary season of Sarah Bush Dance Project. Performances are two weekends only, Saturdays, December 9 and 16 at 8 pm., and Sundays, December 10 and 17 at 7 pm at Shawl Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley.
Derived from an earlier work entitled HOME which she created in the wake of Hurricane Katrina during the George W. Bush administration, Homeward has been created during the current administration and in the very recent aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, and the devastating Northern California fires. The one-hour performance is comprised of scenes of family relationships, solos, duets, and ensembles exploring relationships and ideas about losing and finding home — as a feeling and as a place. The music is a collection of various pop music from several decades.
“Homeward invites conversation about generosity and openness in a time tempting us with fear. We are surrounded by the problems of gentrification and homelessness, extraordinary housing prices, fires, and floods, “ Bush explains. “Our national sense of ‘home’ sits teetering on the edge between open doors and building walls and our discourse is flooded with arguments about who we should let in and who we should keep out. With Homeward we’re saying ‘come in’ and ‘welcome.’ Homeward is a break from the discord.”
The intimate two-story Shawl Anderson Dance Center — once a single family home which still retains the details of its original craftsman architecture — provides a uniquely fitting setting for Homeward. Thirty minutes prior to the show, the audience is invited to wander through the building to observe several installations featuring dancers, video, objects, sound and lighting. The effect is to transport viewers with a sense of nostalgia, perhaps of their own homes and ideas of family.
Please note: Shawl Anderson Dance Center is not a wheelchair accessible venue.
“I love dancing with unique environments,” Bush adds. “Our production last year of This Land Oakland was all outdoors and I realize all that experience balancing and scrambling outside brings an athleticism to our indoor dancing. Climbing tables and chairs isn’t much different than boulders and trees.”
High resolution images are available at http://www.sarahbushdance.org/press
ABOUT SARAH BUSH DANCE PROJECT
Sarah Bush Dance Project (SBDP) formed in 2007 to promote innovative artistry, community interaction and feminist ideals through the creation and presentation of multimedia dance, as interpreted by the artistic work and vision of Sarah Bush. In 2014, under the mentorship of Victor Gotesman (former Executive Director, ODC), Bush formed an Advisory Council to provide a support structure for her creative work.
Evening length works include L1FE: mine. yours. ours. (co-produced with hip-hop company Freeplay Dance Crew, Dance Mission Theater 2007), (In The Wake Of) HOME (Shotwell Studios 2008) and Rocked By Women (premiered at the African American Art & Culture Complex in 2011, panel and performance excerpts at ODC Studio B in 2013, redeveloped with Director Becca Wolff for Dance Mission Theater in 2014, restaged for Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts in 2015). The SF Bay Guardian wrote: “Rocked is a weighty yet explosive expression of the power of an indomitable spirit and embracing courage… a warm, skillfully created, and generous show that just might become a Mother’s Day tradition,” and The Huffington Post added, “A monumental work, which would reverberate just as powerfully in an opera house as it did in the intimate Dance Mission Theater.
In 2016 Sarah Bush Dance Project presented This Land in Oakland, bringing together Bay Area dancers, musicians and poetry to generate art in an intimate exchange with different outdoor landscapes in Oakland, and culminating with a live performance at Laney College’s Odell Johnson Theater. The SF Chronicle described This Land as, “ A paean to the beauty landscapes of Oakland”…“exuberant and visceral choreography.” Dance Europe Magazine named This Land a Critic’s Choice selection for “premiere of the year.”
SBDP productions have received funding from the Queer Cultural Center, the City of Oakland, and the Zellerbach, Blum, and Bernstein Family Foundations. Bush’s work has been presented at the National Queer Arts Festival, Women On The Way, West Wave, PUSHfest, Dance In Revolting Times (D.I.R.T.), Global Women’s Rights Forum, and has performed at the National Women’s Music Festival and Summer Performance Festival (SPF)9.
ABOUT SARAH BUSH
In 1999, Bush began integrating her college and professional modern dance training with her experience in hip-hop and liturgical dance to create her own unique movement vocabulary and choreographic voice. As the Artistic Director of Sarah Bush Dance Project, she brings honest expressions of spirit, strength, story, humor and grace to her extremely physical movement exploration. Her style draws from training in Wu-Shu martial arts, Taiko drumming, ballet, release technique, stage acting, modern, hip hop, jazz, Afro-Caribbean, and contact improvisation. She teaches classes and workshops for all levels.
In addition to her work with SBDP, she is a member of Krissy Keefer’s revolutionary Dance Brigade. She has danced with hip hop company New Style Motherlode and been a guest performer with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. She has choreographed commissions for Axis Dance Company, Destiny Arts Center, Mona Khan Company and Dance Brigade SummerFeast in Dos Rios. Bush has been awarded the Bay Area Dance Watch LiveBlessays Award (2015) and Leader of the Month (May 2014) and is the recipient of Curve Magazine’s Dancer/ Choreographer Award (2010).
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Rose Huey (Homeward Assistant Director/Dancer) is a performance artist and choreographer based in Oakland, CA. She grew up dancing at Destiny Arts Center and later graduated with a BA in History and American Studies from Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN. Since 2011, Rose has danced with Ananya Dance Theatre, Sarah Bush Dance Project, Mixd Ingrdnts, Project Bandaloop and others, touring both nationally and internationally. Additionally, Rose teaches grounded and vertical dance throughout the Bay Area.
Joan Lazarus (Dancer) has performed in the works of Alonzo King, Cliff Keuter, Ellen Bromberg, Mark Morris, Victoria Morgan, Krissy Keefer, Frank Shawl, Bill DeYoung, Toni Pimble, Kathleen, McClintock, Richard Colton, John LeFan and Alan Ptashek. She has been on the dance faculties at University of Oregon, Mills College, San Francisco Ballet, Dance Circle of Boston, The Princeton Ballet, RoCo Dance and Shawl-Anderson. Lazarus has been awarded the Bay Area National Dance Week’s Contribution to the Field of Dance Award (2006), Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Sustained Achievement (2012) and San Francisco Chronicle “2011 Dance MVP.”
Sue Li Jue (Dancer) is Artistic Director for Facing East Dance & Music (FEDM), an Oakland-based modern dance company. Since 1999, she has choreographed and produced several full length, multimedia productions which led to FEDM dancers winning an “Izzie” (Isadora Duncan Dance Award) for Outstanding Ensemble and multiple nominations for Best Visual Design. Li Jue has received numerous grants for her work, including the California Dancemaker Grant and James Irvine California Artist Advancement Initiative Grant. Li Jue has been a dance lecturer and the Director of the Physical Education Program at UC Berkeley and will retire from that post in 2018 after 30 years.
Jennifer Leary (Dancer) began dancing swing and salsa, and studied African and folkloric Brazilian dance more seriously with Vera Passos, Augusto Omolu, Rosangela Silvestre and Paco Gomes after moving to northern Brazil. In the Bay Area, Leary studied dance and psychology at San Francisco State University and for five years she directed and danced in the bi-national company, Paco Gomes and Dancers. She has also performed in work by Chimene Pollard and Rogelio Lopez.
Julie Crothers (Dancer) is a freelance dancer, choreographer, and educator based in Oakland, CA. Crothers grew up in Nashville, TN where she trained in ballet, jazz, tap, and contemporary. In 2014, she graduated from Elon University in North Carolina with a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography and a BA in Arts Administration. Crothers was a member AXIS Dance Company for three years. She has also danced for Renay Aumiller Dances (RAD), based in Durham, NC.
Clarissa Dyas (Dancer), originally from Berkeley, CA, received her dance training at San Francisco State University, graduating in 2017 with a B.A. in Dance and a B.S. in Health Education. Dyas also dances with Robert Moses’ Kin.
Linda Baumgardner (Lighting Designer) has been the lighting designer and production manager for Dana Lawton Dances since 2009. She has designed for Quicksilver Dance, ka•nei•see |collective, The Latin Ballet of Virginia, Ragged Wing Ensemble, San Francisco Circus Center, Davalos Dance Company and Capacitor. Baumgardener served as Director of MFA Dance: Design and Production at Saint Mary’s College (2014-2016) and as Resident Lighting Designer for the Saint Mary’s College Dance Company (2008-2016). She holds an MFA in Theatre, Design and Production from California Institute of the Arts, and a BA in Performing Arts from Saint Mary’s College.
Company Website: www.sarahbushdance.org
Media Contact: Mary Carbonara
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CALENDAR LISTING
Dance Theater, Music, Performance
“A force to be reckoned with” — San Francisco Chronicle
“A modern dance bellwether” — SF Weekly
“Vibrant and nuanced dance theater” — The Monthly
“Bush is as adept at choreographing heartbreak as she is at erotic communion.”
— Huffington Post
“Rocked is a weighty yet explosive expression of the power of an indomitable spirit and embracing courage.” — SF Bay Guardian
WHAT: Sarah Bush Dance Project
Homeward (World Premiere)
Choreographed by Sarah Bush
Lighting Design by Linda Baumgardner
Danced by Julie Crothers, Joan Lazarus, Rose Huey, Sue Li Jue and Jeni Leary
WHEN: Two Weekends Only!
Sat., December 9 at 8 pm and Sun., December 10 at 7 pm
Sat., December 16 at 8 pm and Sun., December 17 at 7 pm
WHERE: Shawl Anderson Dance Center*
2704 Alcatraz Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705
*Please note: Shawl Anderson Dance Center is not a wheelchair accessible venue.
BOX OFFICE: www.sarahbushdance.org/tickets or 510-922-1693
TICKETS:
$20 Early Bird Tickets available thru Oct 31 only
$30 General Admission; $40 Reserved Seating
FOR MORE INFO: www.sarahbushdance.org
Sarah Bush Dance Project 