Ase Dance Theatre Collective

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New Work by Adia



-ASE DANCE THEATRE COLLECTIVE REPERTORY-

NOTE: Most of our work incorporates live music and vocalization.

SOY CRUZ (I am Cruz)- Choreography: MARA RIVERA http://www.myspace.com/maracadance or maracadance@yahoo.com

AFRO-PUERTO RICAN SONG & DANCE. In it's complete version, this piece can be performed with a minimum of 7 performers (drummers included). It can also be performed in smaller versions with a smaller cast.

"Soy Cruz" is an inter-generational family representation that explores the strong religious conviction and tough temperament of three women in my maternal lineage (the Cruz family). This piece illustrates how the religious traditions and methods of coping with painful life situations have been passed down from one generation to the next. I dedicate this piece to Eugenia Rivera Burgos de Cruz (Abuela Eugenia), Ana Celia Cruz Rivera (Titi Pusin), and Fermina Cruz Rivera (Titi Minina) whose spirits have guided me in every step of my spiritual journey.

SHUGACULUWATA - Choreography: ADIA TAMAR WHITAKER http://myspace.com/aseadia or adiva76@hotmail.com

A 90-minute multi-media dance theater performance that investigates the mirror between Haitian Vodou and Hip-Hop culture. Shugaculuwata is composed of four dance theater pieces, two musical interludes, and six short narrative video projection pieces.

LIBATION (17 min. including RING SHOUT) - Choreography: ADIA TAMAR WHITAKER

AFRO-HAITIAN DANCE & VODOU SONG/NEGRO SPIRITUAL FUSION. This piece can be performed with a minimum of 6 performers (drummers included).

"Libation" is the first piece in SHUGACULUWATA. Many people of African ancestry pour libations. Traditionally performed by an elder in the community, a libation is the pouring of liquid as a spiritual offering to honor one's ancestors. This piece is a prayer to our ancestors asking them to protect and guide our hearts as we journey towards our destinies.

RING SHOUT (7 min.) - Choreography: ADIA TAMAR WHITAKER

AFRO-HAITIAN DANCE & VODOU SONG/NEGRO SPIRITUAL FUSION. This piece can be performed with a minimum of 6 performers (drummers included).

As the second section of "Libation", "Ring Shout" makes the connection between "Shouting" a vigorous form of praise dance done in black churches, and the Haitian dances Zepaules, Flou Vodou, and Dahomey. In "Ring Shout", we see the coexistence of Christianity and African Spiritual Tradition, a reality that many people in the Diaspora live with today.

NEG MAWON (15 min.) - Choreography: ADIA TAMAR WHITAKER

AFRO-HAITIAN, SPOKEN WORD, NEO-FOLKLORIC SONG AND DANCE FUSION. This piece can be performed with a minimum of 9 performers (drummers included).

"Neg Mawon" is the second piece in SHUGACULUWATA. The Neg Mawon is a famous statue of a Maroon in Port Au Prince, Haiti. It stands as a symbol of freedom for the Haitian people and honors the first independent black republic in the "New World". Named after this statue, "Neg Mawon" was inspired by the many groups of Native Americans and Africans that revolted, ran away, and took up arms to forge hope and spiritual freedom into the paths of their descendants.

CUZIN KOUZEN (12 min.) - Choreography: ADIA TAMAR WHITAKER

AFRO-HAITIAN SONG AND DANCE. This piece can be performed with a minimum of 6 performers (drummers included).

"Cuzin Kouzen" is the third piece in SHUGACULUWATA. It speaks to the ways that our African, Native American, and European ancestors have influenced our relationships to each other and the land. "Cuzin Kouzen" features some of the agricultural dances traditionally done in the performance of a Haitian Konbit. It also touches on the ideas of survival, social stratification, and commonality within the African Diaspora. The story of "Cuzin Kouzen" comes alive as the Haitian marketplace women use laughter and conversation to pass their long, hot day of hard work.

RadioACTIVE (12 min.) - Choreography: ADIA TAMAR WHITAKER

SWING DANCE, FOOTWORK, FREESTYLE, BODY PERCUSSION, SPOKEN WORD, REGGAE, NEO-FOLKLORIC SONG & DANCE FUSION. This piece can be performed with a minimum of 9 performers (drummers included).

"RadioACTIVE" is the last piece in SHUGACULUWATA. "RadioACTIVE" is a neo-folkloric dance theater piece that celebrates the creativity, improvisation, and resourcefulness “black” folks use to survive in contemporary urban culture. It is a kinesthetic translation of our ability to change the negative into the positive and facilitate communication between the past, present, and future of our dance. Blues, Jazz, Swing, Reggae, Hip Hop, House, vernacular and traditional dance from the African Diaspora are all stops on a late night train ride through poly rhythm and pulse.

THE TRUTH ABOUT MEDUSA - Choreography: ADIA TAMAR WHITAKER http://myspace.com/aseadia or adiva76@hotmail.com

A 90 minute multi-media dance theater performance that explores the African origin, mythology, and legacy of Medusa as it relates to the contemporary woman warrior.

MEDUSA -THE WARRIOR (13 min.) - Choreography: ADIA WHITAKER

AFRO-HAITIAN DANCE & SONG, MODERN DANCE, AFRO-CUBAN SONG, JAMAICAN FOLKLORE, MOSHING, AFRICAN-AMERICAN FOLKLORE. This piece can be performed with a minimum of 9 performers (drummers included).

"Medusa- The Warrior" is the first piece in THE TRUTH ABOUT MEDUSA. "Medusa- The Warrior" is a collective blood memory. It is a journey through the actual history and folklore of the African warrior queen Medusa. "Medusa - The Warrior" links the legacy of Medusa and her tribe (the Gorgons) to our contemporary experience as woman warriors in the Diaspora today.

A BRAKE 4 the 5 (20 min.) - Choreography: ADIA T. WHITAKER

BODY PERCUSSION, FREESTYLE, MODERN DANCE, NEO-FOLKLORIC SONG, DANCE, & HIP HOP THEATER, AFRO-HAITIAN RARA SONG & DANCE, AFRICAN-AMERICAN FOLKLORE. This piece can be performed with a minimum of 9 performers (drummers included).

"A Brake 4 the 5" is the second and last piece in THE TRUTH ABOUT MEDUSA. It is the celebration of lessons learned, the acceptance of loves lost and gained, powers harnassed, and victories won. It's Medusa's ascent to her divine spiritual power, her ancestral throne and the legacy I will leave behind for future tribes of warriors, lovers, fighters, storytellers, and visionaries. "A Brake 4 the 5" is also a living quilt and picture of the conversation between tradition and neo-folklore of the African Diaspora.



-ASE DANCE THEATRE COLLECTIVE PERFORMANCE HISTORY-

Kwanzaa @ The World Financial Center (2009)

Meet the Artist @ Lincoln Center (2009)

E-Moves @ The Gatehouse/Harlem Stage (2009)

Target's First Saturdays @ The Brooklyn Museum of Art (2008)

City Parks Foundation Summerstage @ Von King Park (2008)

Thelma Hill Performing Arts @ The Kumble Theater (2008)

The Award's Show @ Joyce SoHo (2008)

Women Innovators in Caribbean Music and Dance @ The Baisley Powell Elebash Recital Hall, CUNY Graduate Center (2008)

Embora Community Concert @ Embora (2008)

The African Caribbean Concert presented by the Office of Black Diasporan Studies at Florida A &M University (Tallahassee, FLA 2008)

Tallahassee Community College (Tallahassee, FLA 2008)

The Board of the New York Chapter of the American Dance Therapy Association 2nd Annual Gala Dance Concert and Reception @ Teatro La Tea (2007)

The Brooklyn Mecca Dance Showcase @ White Wave in DUMBO (2006) and Dance New Amsterdam (2007)

The Living Word Festival @ Dance Mission (San Francisco, CA 2007)

The Vagina Monologues: Stop Violence against Haitian Women @ the Brooklyn Museum of Art (2007)

A Tribute to Dunham @ the NYC Museum of Natural History (2007)

The NU Dance Festival @ the Theater at Riverside Church (2006)

E-Moves @ Aaron Davis Hall (2006)

The IABD Dance Conference @ Symphony Space and The Kaye Playhouse (2006)

The Coffey Park Dance Festival presented by Dancing in the Streets (2005, 2006, and 2007)

Story of Her Steps/Women of Color Dance Showcase @ the BRIC (2006)

Afro-Punk Liberation Sessions @ The Delancey (2005)

The NYC Hip Hop Theater Festival @ New York Theater Workshop (2005) and Dance Theater Workshop (2007)

The International African Arts Festival (2004)

The Open Kitchen Series @ The Kitchen (2004)

The Souls of Our Feet: People of Color Dance Festival presented by Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center at the LIU Triangle Theater (2002 & 2005)

Sistahs Making Dances/The D.A.D.D series @ the Judson Memorial Church (2003)

The International Dance Festival @ the Theater of St. Clement's Church (Off-Broadway, 2002)

ASE has also been presented by The Children’s Museum of Manhattan, The Caribbean Cultural Center (2001, 2007, 2009), SUNY Purchase (2002, 2003, 2005), Arts Connection (2006 & 2007), Community Works (2002-2008), The Schomburg Center and Brooklyn Arts Council.