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

Red Clay Dance Company (RCDC),  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  redclaydance.com. All programming is  subject to change.   For more information  about RCDC and the  10th anniversary  season, visit  redclaydance.com.   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.