Red Clay Dance in “Turning Points”/Photo: MReid Photography
Ten years ago, Vershawn Sanders-Ward created a piece about the pernicious nature of racial bigotry in America for her then-young company, Red Clay Dance. Now, for Red Clay’s sixteenth season, Sanders-Ward is revisiting the piece, informed by time, continued study and the perspectives of new company members. Sanders-Ward says her perspective on racism has grown more nuanced over the last decade, crediting some of her insights to reading (and re-reading) “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” Isabel Wilkerson’s survey of social hierarchies across civilizations.
“In that book she’s comparing caste systems in the United States and other countries,” Sanders-Ward says. “I began to understand that America’s caste system is racialized, but that’s not the case everywhere. I was also looking at the dancers in the company now—while we’re all women, we’re not all Black women. We have biracial dancers; there is a white dancer in the company. I wanted to be able to bring all those voices into this query. The first iteration of [“Written on the Flesh”] was very black and white—literally. That was the lens. That’s not the reality of our current society; people have so many identities inside of them.”
The reimagined piece will be staged at the Dance Center of Columbia College April 17-19, in a program named for Red Clay’s anniversary year. Sanders-Ward says she approached the new iteration with an eye on systemic issues. “How do we see systems and structures that are so interwoven you don’t realize they are present and active? We looked at how those systems effect us individually and collectively,” she says. “What are the structures holding us in place and what role do we all play in upholding it? How do I open my mind and understand what I have control over and what I don’t?”
The program also features a new work by revered contemporary choreographer Bebe Miller. Few dance makers have been invited to create work for Red Clay’s repertoire, most of which is dedicated to Sanders-Ward’s body of work; Miller is only the sixth choreographer commissioned to create a piece for the company in its history. Sanders-Ward first saw Miller’s work when she was a student; she says she was drawn to Miller’s process in the studio, and the liveliness that resulted on stage. “I remember seeing her piece ‘In A Rhythm’ and I just loved the casual tenacity of the movers,” she says. “It seemed effortless—I knew there was effort—but they were just people, but not ‘performing’—they were people in relationship in a very human way. I didn’t feel pulled, I felt guided through her work. I feel honored. It’s a gift to have her work in our repertoire.”
Sanders-Ward says she hopes audiences will come out to support Red Clay’s performance as well as other Chicago-based companies. “In this moment—it always feels like we say, ‘in this moment’—in every moment we need to support our local artists. Local support is what carries artists through times when we’re not getting support at the national level.”
“16” at the Dance Center of Columbia College, 1306 South Michigan. April 17-19 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $30, available at dance.colum.edu.
