Sunday, February 17, 2019

Red Clay Dance: Art of Resilience 2.0 May 16–18, DuSable Museum Roundhouse



RED CLAY DANCE PERFORMS WORLD PREMIERE
ART OF RESILIENCE 2.0
MAY 16–18 AT DUSABLE MUSEUM ROUNDHOUSE



which creates and performs a 
diverse repertoire of Afro-
contemporary dance, continues 
its 10th anniversary season with 
the world premiere of Art of 
Resilience 2.0 by Founder and 
Artistic Director Vershawn 
Sanders-Ward. Performances 
are May 16–18, 2019 at 7:30 
p.m., co-presented by the 
DuSable Museum of African 
American History at DuSable 
Museum Roundhouse, 740 W. 
56th Place, Chicago. Following 
the Saturday, May 18 
performance, RCDC hosts its 
annual Paint the Town Red 
fundraiser party.
 
Art of Resilience 2.0 is a site-
specific, mixed-media 
performance installation 
that re-imagines RCDC’s 
2017 repertory work Art 
of Resilience. A fully 
immersive activation of the 
DuSable Museum's 
Roundhouse space, Art 
of Resilience 2.0 highlights 
the architecture of the 
historic building constructed 
in the 19th century by 
visionary architect Daniel 
H. Burnham. Using 
movement, song, text, 
vibrant projections, and 
multiple performance 
stages, RCDC’s “Urban 
 Griots” take the audience 
on a journey through 
Chicago’s South Side. 
The work reconstructs 
the stories of Chicago’s 
“Black Belt,” exploring 
 themes such as redlining, 
housing covenants, the 
Stroll, and the 
Black Arts Movement 
while amplifying the 
embodied resilience that 
exists today inside 
these historically 
disenfranchised but 
culturally rich 
communities. Through 
an embodied exploration 
of these concepts, the 
 “Urban Griots” display a 
futuristic expression of 
black life on the South Side.
 
The National Endowment 
for the Arts has 
recommended a $10,000 
grant to RCDC to 
support the creation and 
presentation of Art of 
Resilience 2.0.


Concluding the 10th 
anniversary season is 
RCDC’s “Dance4Peace 
Youth Concert & 
 Community Hug Awards” 
June 1 at 5 p.m. at Benito 
Juarez Community Academy, 
1450 W. Cermak Rd.
 
Red Clay Dance Company 
performs the world 
premiere of Art of 
Resilience 2.0 
Thursday–Saturday, May 
16–18 at 7:30 p.m. 
at 
the DuSable Museum 
Roundhouse, 740 W. 56th 
Pl., Chicago.

Performance tickets are 
$30, $24 for 
seniors and students; 
admission to the May 
18 performance and 
post-show Paint the 
Town Red fundraiser is 
$100.

Tickets, which go on 
sale March 1, are 
available at 

All programming is 
subject to change.
 
For more information 
about RCDC and the 
10th anniversary 
season, visit 
 
Red Clay Dance Company
Red Clay Dance Company lives 
to awaken “glocal” change 
through creating, performing, 
and teaching dances of the 
African Diaspora—change 
that transforms cultural 
and socioeconomic 
imbalances in our local and 
global community. 
Founder Vershawn Sanders-
Ward conceived the idea of 
RCDC while on her first trip 
to Senegal, West Africa, 
when she became 
fascinated by the 
interconnectedness of 
dance and everyday life. 
The name Red Clay comes 
from her childhood memories 
of playing in red earth during 
her summers in Mobile, 
Alabama.
 
RCDC’s 10th anniversary 
season is supported 
by the Chicago Community 
Trust, the Field Foundation, 
the MacArthur Fund for Arts 
and Culture at the 
Richard H Driehaus 
Foundation, the 
Gaylord and Dorothy 
Donnelley Foundation, 
the Springboard Foundation, 
the Polk Bros. Foundation, 
the Illinois Arts Council 
Agency, and the Chicago 
Department of Cultural 
Affairs and Special 
Events. Corporate 
Sponsors include PNC Bank, 
The Silver Room, EAmbrose 
Photography, and A Social 
Life.

The 10th Anniversary 
Season Host Committee 
includes Ebony Ambrose, 
Jessica Bell, Amy Clark*, 
Leslie Guy, Catrina 
Franklin*, Tam Herbert*, 
Jada Russell, Brea 
Sanders, Marilyn A. 
Sanders, and Ira Staples 
(* denotes RCDC board 
member).
Photos of Art of Resilience
by Raymond Jerome.

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