Modern dance troupe Urban Bush Women contemplate American values and the narrative of the African Diaspora in “Hair and Other Stories,” on the Flynn MainStage Friday, March 9, at 8 p.m.
Urban Bush Women’s uniquely bold and boundary-pushing storytelling weaves contemporary dance, music and text with the history, culture and spiritual traditions of African Americans and the African Diaspora.
This radical re-imagining of an earlier work, “HairStories,” 2001, features the choreography of Samantha Speis and Chanon Judson in collaboration with the company, new music compositions by The Illustrious Blacks (Manchildblack and Monstah Black), with stage direction by Raelle Myrick-Hodges.
Crafted from personal narratives from their communities, kitchens, living rooms, social media and YouTube, “Hair and Other Stories” is an opportunity for the entire family to see a dance work that debates the center of perceived American “values.”
This performance is wondrously and humorously disquieting. It explores perceptions of body image, race, gender identity, economic inequities, what constitutes freedom, liberation and release in our everyday struggles.
Urban Bush Women is a contemporary dance company based in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Tickets start at $15 and are available through the FlynnTix Regional Box Office; call (802) 863-5966 or visit flynncenter.org.