USC Visions and Voices Presents The West Coast Premiere of BODIES AS SITE OF FAITH AND PROTEST by waheedworks, February 28

USC Visions and Voices will present the West Coast premiere of Bodies as Site of Faith and Protest  on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. at Bovard Auditorium.

Propelled by gospel music, polyrhythmic sounds, and speeches from the Civil Rights Movement, the newest work by Philadelphia-based dance company waheedworks beautifully and powerfully merges urban street dance and contemporary dance vocabularies to explore the idea of bodies uniting in protest and carry on founder and artistic director Tommie-Waheed Evans's mission of creating a radically collaborative body of work that speaks to human life. 

"Hope for equality to all Americans, no matter their race, creed, or gender, is the importance of the Civil Rights Movement," shares Evans, whose work is grounded in his upbringing in the church. "Speeches from the era not only served as a vehicle for social change, but also for self-assertiveness. Bodies as Site of Faith and Protest explores the idea of bodies uniting in protest. Dr. Martin Luther King's speech 'We Shall Overcome' becomes the embodiment of faith and protest, situating itself within the meta-textual location of moving bodies alongside and within his speech." 

Bodies as Site of Faith and Protest offers a path to liberation through the bold, raw, and transcendent movements of its unapologetically diverse dancers. D Magazine praised the company's "unbelievable energy" at the show's premiere in Dallas, TX, describing its power and timelessness as "political but also deeply human."

The performance, which closes USC's celebration of Black History Month and is free and open to everyone, will be accompanied by a conversation with Tommie-Waheed Evans and members of the company.

Make reservations and get more information at visionsandvoices.usc.edu.

Tommie-Waheed Evans is a queer Black dance maker, born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, amidst racial divide, gang warfare, and earthquakes. The 2021 Guggenheim Fellow's work explores Blackness, spirituality, queerness, and liberation. He began his formal training with Karen McDonald before receiving a fellowship at the Ailey School and an MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University. He has toured and performed nationally and internationally as a company member of Lula Washington Dance Theater, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and PHILADANCO! Since 2004, he has created more than 50 original dance works that range widely in scope, length, tone and subject matter. waheedworks, his Philadelphia-based dance company, is the primary vehicle for his creative research. He has also been commissioned to create works for BalletX, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, PHILADANCO!, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Verb Ballets, Ballet Memphis, the University of the Arts, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Lula Washington Dance Theatre, and Louisville Ballet. Evans is currently an artist-in-residence at PHILADANCO! and on faculty at the University of the Arts. 

waheedworks was established by artistic director Tommie-Waheed Evans in Philadelphia, PA, in 2006. Working collaboratively, Evans has led waheedworks in creating an extensive repertoire that propels new contemporary movement work into the next era. waheedworks has also collaborated with composers Greg Smith and Darryl Hoffman and the poet Gregory Smith, and has received generous support from the Princess Grace Foundation, National Endowment of the Arts, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, New Music USA project grant, Center of Ballet and the Arts at NYU, and Dance/USA. The company has also had the pleasure of being presented by SummerStage NYC, The Painted Bride Arts Center, Plays and Players Theatre, Long Island Theatre, the Dance Boom Festival, the Coming Together Festival, the International Association of Blacks in Dance, and Philadelphia Dance Projects.

waheedworks: Bodies as Site of Faith and Protest 

 

Bovard Auditorium, University of Southern California, 3551 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90089

Date: Wednesday, February 28, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: Admission is free.

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