Sarah Bush Dance Project to Present ROCKED BY WOMEN, 5/9-11

This Mother's Day weekend, Sarah Bush Dance Project presents Rocked By Women, May 9-11, 2014 at Dance Mission Theater in San Francisco. Uplifting, bold, poetic, this contemporary dance company shares a powerful story paying homage to the fearless women from the Feminist Movement, Women's Music and beyond. Inspired by pioneers from the 1970s to today, the work celebrates female artists and leaders who remind us of the courage it takes to live fully as women.

Featuring expressive choreography by Sarah Bush, the ensemble performs a series of interlocking vignettes, celebrating the strength of sisterhood. The talented artists support one another in dynamic twists, jumps and group lifts in Sarah Bush's signature fusion of urban contemporary movement vocabulary.

Commissioned by Queer Cultural Center for National Queer Arts Festival in 2011, Rocked By Women was co-produced at the African-American Art & Culture Complex in San Francisco before a sold-out audience. SBDP organized a panel discussion with featured leaders and artists. Fans have praised the show. Singer/Songwriter Ferron wrote "huge thank you and great gratitude for sustaining such an emotional legacy through dance and movement." On October 12th, 2013, at ODC Studio B in San Francisco, SBDP produced Rocked By Women: Panel and Performance Excerpts, where six esteemed female leaders discussed ideas of feminism & art from 1970-today, and responded to several dance pieces choreographed by Sarah Bush. The stories from the guest panelists added context and deepened the meaning of the dance pieces. "One of the gifts of this show is the opportunity to tell stories and engage in dialogue with different generations of women," reflects Sarah Bush, "having conversations with elders, women leaders and with women younger than me. The process is accomplishing the mission of passing along important histories and important experiences."

Sarah began an exciting new collaboration with playwright and theater director Becca Wolff to shape a strong dramatic arc for the show. Becca notes "Developing the narrative of 'Rocked By Women' with Sarah has been thrilling and enlightening for me. Her love of women's music is totally infectious, and her ability to express that love through dance and choreography is amazing. I am also grateful that through her personal story I discovered new parts of my own history - the story behind the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, Olivia Records and Club Q. I look forward to others having this same experience!"

Another new collaborator is KC Cohen, lighting designer at night stage for Michigan Womyn's Music festival. Composer and multi-instrumentalist Julie Wolf adds texture and depth to the story with an original music score. Julie has appeared on stages around the world and on numerous critically acclaimed recordings. She has collaborated with Ani DiFranco, Indigo Girls, Maceo Parker, Amy Ray, Bruce Cokburn and Sia, among many others.

Sarah Bush shares "It is a moment in my life to be more personal; to take a few more risks with this show." The new full-length evening show provides an opportunity for audiences to laugh and cry together, while learning and feeling empowered by seeing pieces of history often untold. Holly Near, singer/songwriter and activist, said "We will probably be completely forgotten if there's not young women like Sarah who are determined to remember."

Sarah Bush Dance Project Founder and Artistic Director Sarah Bush creates high energy, highly accessible and transformative performances. San Francisco Chronicle Dance Critic Rachel Howard called Sarah Bush "a force to be reckoned with," and in 2010 Curve Magazine recognized Sarah Bush for her emerging, innovative choreography with a coveted "Curvey Award."

Sarah Bush synthesizes her background in modern dance, hip hop, jazz, ballet, Afro-Caribbean and contact improvisation, resulting in high energy, highly accessible performances by her diverse company of dancers. Sarah's resume is as expansive as her repertoire, performing and choreographing in several MTV music videos, appearing as a two time featured guest on the Tyra Banks Show, dancing on cruise ships, stages and nightclubs around the country and the world, choreographing for AXIS Dance Company, guest performing with Bill T. Jones, working as an NBA Golden State Warrior Girl, and (since 2000) as a taiko-drumming warrior woman with Dance Brigade.?She has performed in the Bay Area for more than 14 years, selling out residency performances at Shotwell Studio with her innovative "In the Wake of: HOME" and three nights of "L1FE: Mine. Yours. Ours." at Dance Mission Theater. She has worked with Oakland based AXIS Dance Company and the Destiny Arts Center. She offers private lessons and teaches group classes in San Francisco and the East Bay.
ABOUT SARAH BUSH DANCE PROJECT

Sarah Bush Dance Project is a contemporary dance company and one of the most versatile dance companies in San Francisco. Since 1999, Sarah Bush Dance Project has brought urban contemporary dance to churches, nightclubs, live music concerts and music videos, parks, cruise ships, and fine arts theater in the Bay Area and internationally. A constant through SBDP's work is the expression, emotion, and humanity in the dancers' performance quality. The company explores issues of identity, gender, and sexuality within the broader themes of love, relationships, loss, power and empowerment

Sarah Bush Dance Project's performance activities have been made possible through generous support from Bernstein Family Foundation, Blum Family Foundation, Dell Inc., Embarcadero YMCA, LEVYdance Salon, New Style Motherlode, Shotwell Studios, Queer Cultural Center, Women on the Way Dance Festival, Zellerbach Family Foundation and SBDP's generous individual donors.

photo by Lynne Freid

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