The highly regarded Lula Washington Dance Theatre will perform today and Saturday in Temecula.
The program will range from a work incorporating the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872- 1906) to jazz and hip-hop.
It should be a journey for the audience, said Washington by phone from her Los Angeles studio.
"I've always used spoken text in my work, to create an environment for the dance," she said.
Washington was inspired by Dunbar's poem "We Wear the Mask" when she created "We Wore the Mask," an animated depiction of blacks moving beyond the false faces they adopted to survive from slavery to segregation to discrimination.
The dance starts with a woman in a traditional Mali mask. It is elegant but is removed and the dancers are left to hide their feelings with facial expressions.
The piece is set to live music by Marcus Miller & the Freedom Jazz Movement.
The program includes a tribute to Katherine Dunham in the performance of "Rhumba Trio," which was one of the late choreographer's first works.
Washington will also dance a new work, "Remembering Miss Dunham." Dunham (1909-2006), who was an anthropologist specializing in culture and dance of the West Indies, was a pioneer in Africa-American dance, blending movement from Africa, the Caribbean and ballet.
"We've always wanted to have Miss Dunham's technique preserved," Washington said. "Out of the Dunham technique, out of that came the elements of jazz dance as it's known today."
Another piece, "Songs of the Disinherited," is by one of today's most prominent black choreographers, Donald McKayle.
"Mahal Dances" is a tribute to musician Taj Mahal.
"It's a very earthy, folksy piece," Washington said. "It ... focuses on growing up and playing games."
Washington's daughter, Tamica Washington-Miller, and Carvon Taz Futrell contribute "Together." The show will close with the high-energy improvisational "Spontaneous Combustion."
by:www.pe.com
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