Now Breathe: Red Clay Dance + Keiga Dance Company: A reflection by Marceia Scruggs
Now Breathe: Red Clay Dance + Keiga Dance Company
Collaboration Brings Chicago and Ugandan Dance Company Together
By: Marceia Scruggs
cover image by the author: Community workshops at the Uganda National Theatre
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Years in the Making
Ever felt like the timing of things was perfect? Like all of the fruits that you laid were finally harvesting for a purpose?
Meet Vershawn Sanders-Ward, founder and artistic director of Red Clay Dance Company of Chicago, IL. She sees what seems like a 10-year journey now budding before her eyes.
After completing her MFA in 2007, Sanders-Ward traveled to Senegal for a three-month program where she met Jonas Byaruhanga, the founder of Keiga Dance Company, which is based in Uganda. It was then that the conversations of partnership and collaboration initially began. Instantly, the two connected, perhaps because they shared the English language as well as a distinctive movement vocabulary and vision. When reflecting on her first moments of witnessing his movement, Vershawn recalled his choices as being “untainted,” describing him, as “having a clear distinction of how exactly he wished to move his body through space.”
But, it wasn’t until 2010 when Jonas and Vershawn reunited at Dance Transmissions Festival of Uganda, where they performed a duet the two were creating alongside other work, that they realized their desire to continue to collaborate.
Years later, their schedules finally aligned. Ideas were stream-flowing. All that was lacking was the vital funding to turn what seemed to be inconceivable ideas to tangible reality. Funding from the MacArthur Foundation International grant propelled both Vershawn and Jonas’ vision.
Here we are years later, Red Clay and Keiga Dance both in the Pearl of Africa, created a plethora of unimaginable experiences, this past fall. From the red dirt that lied underneath their feet to the overwhelming welcoming community, from breathtaking rehearsals to joyously fulfilling moments of bonding as both individuals and companies, the experience this past October couldn’t be any more honest or surreal. Riding ATV’s through the village, getting massages on the Nile River, and watching contemporary artists perform on the beautiful rooftop of Alliance Français were just a few surreal moments during Red Clay’s two-week residency in Uganda.
A day at the Nile River: Image by the author
A Springboard to Deeper Collaboration
When asked what excites her most about the collaboration, Vershawn responded, that it’s “how greatly this expands my creative process as well as the capacity to which this work moves into a deeper collaboration,” which feels like a “springboard to other experiences”. With Jonas recognized as a Ugandan pioneer, fusing traditional and contemporary forms, she’s extremely thrilled to potentially facilitate audiences in Chicago to have the opportunity to see and honestly respond to his creative work. And, with the outstanding prominence of West and Central traditional dance in the States, she’s excited to explore this rich culture, as well as undo the assumption that all African dance is the same and that all Africans can do all African dance.
Holding onto Sensations
On a more personal note, having the opportunity to dance alongside black bodies – black, male bodies at that – was an overwhelmingly amazing experience for myself. Sharing opinions, movement, experiences, and setting a continuous vulnerable atmosphere – we all grasped hold of this driving force that allowed us to jump wholeheartedly into the process. I’m most thankful for this reawakening of my senses, allowing vulnerability to surface, and everything/everyone around me to influence what’s happening in the present, the product-creation. And, with all artists mentally and physically available, this not only cultivated a safe space for us to all work, but it furthered the prospect of the two companies touring.