Main stage performance
ZAZ is an immersive sensory performance that shifts traditional viewing practices beyond just sight and sound. The performers embody the oral histories and recorded experiences of survivors of Hurricane Katrina. They perform in tap shoes, hard-soled shoes, gumboots, and barefoot, creating a rhythmic score that supports the narration woven into the performance. These stories are conveyed through speaking, singing, rapping, and projections, creating a unique experience that transports the audience to New Orleans and breaks down the boundaries of the fourth wall.
Conceived by Ryan K. Johnson, an acclaimed 2024 Guggenheim Choreography Fellow and recipient of the prestigious 2024 New England Foundation for the Arts National Dance Project production grant, this choreography-led performance intricately weaves soundscapes and cutting-edge media technology with vibrant percussive dance. Zaz includes Associate Director Jodeci Milhouse with choreographic contributions from all performers, guest choreography by Quynn Johnson and Michelle Gibson and musical arrangements by Tamar Greene of Hamilton, Broadway company and Henley Connor III. (75 mins. no intermission)
ZAZ
A powerful performative archive of stories honoring the resilience of Hurricane Katrina survivors, embodying their experiences through dance, music, and technology.
Performers: Eight
Traveling Crew: Two - Three
Arts Education and Community programming can be added to Zaz:The Big Easy
Tap, Body Percussion, West African, and Contemporary movement workshops, and residencies can be added to ZAZ bookings.
The Pulse is a 70-minute immersive performance experience, turning audiences from mere spectators into active participants. It guides them through a polyrhythmic roller coaster of layered African Diasporic Dance, Tap Dance, Body Percussion, Sand Dance, and Audience participation, igniting the senses by translating global rhythms to the human body, producing a rhythmic score of movement and music. The Pulse includes the company's latest work, Body Language, a sonic and kinetic exploration of African Diasporic Percussive Dance with loop machine technology, building an original soundscape in real time that the artist then performs too. The Pulse was developed during The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in an Office Hours Residency and premiered at Jacob's Pillow in 2023.
THE PULSE
Dancer(s): Five
Musician(s): One
Crew: Three
Arts Education and Community programming packages can be added to The Pulse.
Tap, Body Percussion workshops, and residencies can be added to The Pulse.
