Contemporary artist, choreographer, and performer nora chipaumire — a “rock star of dance” (The New Yorker) — has enlivened Harlem Stage with her revolutionary dance performances on numerous occasions. chipaumire returns to E-Moves with the New York premiere of ShebeenDUB, which transforms the historic Harlem Stage Gatehouse into a sonic and visual statement of radical Black indictment of Empire. Featuring the monumental afternow sound installation, including the soundshitsystem, designed by Ari Marcopoulos and Kara Walker and constructed by Matt Jackson Studio, the afternoon and evening unfold in three parts.
Audiences are first invited to experience NEHANDA, a radio opera by chimpaumire which relays the story of Nehanda, a Shona spirit who inhabits women, and in 1866 caused Charwe Nyakasikana to incite resistance against British colonialists in Central Africa. The opera, developing over four hours and played through the sound installation, delves into the Shona people’s experience of the anti-colonial war in Zimbabwe.
Following the opera, three dancers perform ShebeenDUB with dub music spun DJ Luz Mob within the afternow installation, celebrating dub — a musical style that emerged in the late 60s and early 70s which interrogates empire, its aesthetics, and ideas of human rights.
To close the night, audiences are invited to participate in a dance party featuring dub music by DJ Luz Mob.
nora chipaumire
with Shamar Wayne Watt
Marguerite Hemmings
Kei Soares Cobb
Selector Luz Mob
Sound Franz Schütte
Installation design by nora chipaumire, Ari Marcopoulos, Kara Walker, and Matthew Jackson Studio
ShebeenDub was made possible with the initial support of Dance Umbrella UK. This work has been performed in multiple spaces from Berlin to Paris, Vancouver, Marseille, Columbus, Ohio, and Brussels.
NEHANDA (2021) is composed of 8 episodes. The total running time is 3 hours 51 minutes. Audio treatment by Franz Schütte, with Nadel Eins Studio Berlin.
Videoprojection ARIAS by Mieke Ulfig
Supported by the Mellon Foundation, Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, and Harkness Foundation for Dance.
This program is also supported, in part, by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Diana King Memorial Fund presented by the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation.
shebeenDUB
DUBBODY INSTALLATION as choreogrAPHY
A sonic and Visual statement of radical black indictment of empire.
OBJECT
LIGHT
SOUND
HUMAN
WITHOUT BEING BANAL ... ANY OBJECT PLACED WITH AN AWARENESS OF HOW IT AFFECTS, SPACE LIGHT SOUND AND MOVEMENT IS ....choreography — THE SOUND SYSTEM, a sound emitting object - unmute — a living object
Interacting with humans animate and active space - life
To conjure up all creative and law-defying possibilities of DUB sound and housing ( human proximities ) situations for many black peoples in and out of the continent of Africa.
Dub - drum, and bass - the most sensuous of sonic possibilities
Dub - the residue of those people who are a product of the trans-Atlantic human trade and that thought of commonwealthhiding the fact that empire has no desire to hold wealth in common
Dub - by the people for the people? Possibly a sonic and visual public art!
DJ + MC + engineer (building the speaker) — collective art practice!
CHOREOGRAPHER
nora chipaumire was born in 1965 in what was then known as Umtali, Rhodesia (now Mutare, Zimbabwe). She is a product of colonial education for black native Africans - known as group B schoolingand has pursued other studies at the University of Zimbabwe (law) and at Mills College in Oakland, CA (dance).
chipaumire’s latest work is NEHANDA, a large-scale opera. Before and up to the start of the global pandemic, chipaumire has been touring #PUNK 100% POP *NIGGA (verbalized as Hashtag Punk, One Hundred Percent Pop and Star NIGGA), a three-part live performance album. She recently released a Radio Opera (2021), has been featured in several dance films, and made her directorial debut with the short film Afro Promo #1 King Lady (2016).
PERFORMANCE ARTIST
Marguerite Angelica Monique Hemmings is a Jamaican born, Jersey-raised, NYC-made performance artist/educator currently based in Philadelphia, USA. They focus on one’s own body, one’s own way of moving, adapting, healing, releasing, protecting, changing, and connecting to the unseen. They are a master of body ceremonies and a curator of vibes. They currently work inside of a self/spirit directed practice called we free. we free looks at the millennial and gen z approach to liberation through its music, social dance and social media.
PERFORMANCE ARTIST
Kei Soares Cobb is a Cape Verdean-American performance artist, sound designer, and healer based on the shores of the Atlantic. Since studying music technology and philosophy at Northeastern University, Kei has been pursuing a more traditional education under the wings of mentors, masters, and spirit guides. Kei has collaborated and performed with yonTande (Whitney V. Hunter), Ronald Kevin Lewis and Low Mountain Top Collective, RISD Museum, and Trinity Repertory Company. Kei is currently an artist-in-residence at AS220’s Blackbox Theatre and is supported by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts in creation of experimental opera, BASSO CONTINUO, an interpolation of Narcissus and Echo that revalues and reanimates the reflective and reflected self(s).
PERFORMANCE ARTIST
Shamar Watt is an experimental multidisciplinary independent artist born in Kingston (Jamaica) raised in Miami, based in Miami and New York City. He was nominated as one of the top 25 performers/choreographers to watch for 2019 Dance Magazine. Watt was a 2018 Bessie Nominee and in 2019 he received the prestigious Bessie Award for Outstanding Performance. Watt is driven by the politics of black frequencies as they shift/manipulate space and can enable the body to respond in radical ways towards illumination.
PERFORMER
Franz Schütte is a german musician and artist who is running a music studio called NADEL EINS STUDIO BERLIN. He offers various services such as recording, mixing, mastering, sound-design and consulting. Working in different positions related to audio for more than 25 years he can draw on extensive experience.
Franz has been working with nora for nehanda, afternow, wiFziFM, nherera, NOT waiting, and shebeenDUB. As collaborator and foremost conspirator he is a true supporter of the nhereraHub in deed and mind. His main emphasis is the conception of the hubs music studio as a place that will have its very unique acoustic and equipment. The goal is to create the nhereraHUB signature sound.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council.
Harlem Stage’s Programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
ABDULLAH IBRAHIM · ADAM W. SADBERRY
ALEXANDER DAVIS · AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE
BERTHA HOPE · BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE COMPANY
BOBBY MORGAN · BORA YOON · CAMILLE A. BROWN
CARL HANCOCK RUX · CHLOE DAVIS · CRAIG HARRIS
DAFNIS PRIETO · DANIEL FETECUA · DAVID VALBUENA
DJ SABINE BLAIZIN (OYASOUND) · FEI-FEI
FLOR DE TOLOACHE · GEORGE EMILIO SANCHEZ
HANNAH LEMMONS AKA LEMMONS · IAN ISIAH
JAMES BLASZKO · JASON MORAN · JOANNE BRACKEEN
JOSÉ JAMES · JOYA POWELL · JUEL D. LANE
KALÍ RODRÍGUEZ-PEÑA · KIMBERLY NICHOLE
LUCIANA SOUZA · MALEEK WASHINGTON
MARY PRESCOTT · MATTHEW WHITAKER
MAYTE NATALIO · MICAH THOMAS · NORA CHIPAUMIRE
PABLO MAYOR’S FOLKLORE URBANO ORCHESTRA
PATTY ORTIZ · RICKEY TRIPP
RONALD K. BROWN/EVIDENCE
SHANTELLE COURVOISIER JACKSON · STEW
SUN HAN GUILD · TAMAR-KALI · URBAN BUSH WOMEN
VIJAY IYER · YASSER TEJEDA · YUNIYA EDI KWON
SEPTEMBER 14, 2023
ON & ON: JOSÉ JAMES
SINGS BADU
SEPTEMBER 22, 2023
UPTOWN NIGHTS
LATIN MUSIC SERIES
PABLO MAYOR’S FOLKLORE
URBANO ORCHESTRA
OCTOBER 13 – 14, 2023
E-MOVES
RONALD K. BROWN/ EVIDENCE
OCTOBER 20 – 21, 2023
CRAIG HARRIS
TONGUES OF FIRE
(in a harlem state of mind)
OCTOBER 27, 2023
UPTOWN NIGHTS
LATIN MUSIC SERIES
DAFNIS PRIETO
FEATURING LUCIANA SOUZA
CANTAR
NOVEMBER 3, 2023
IN THE COURT OF THE CONQUEROR
BY GEORGE EMILIO
SANCHEZ IN COLLABORATION WITH VISUAL ARTIST PATTY ORTIZ
NOVEMBER 10, 2023
UPTOWN NIGHTS
LATIN MUSIC SERIES + CARNEGIE HALL CITYWIDE
FLOR DE TOLOACHE
DECEMBER 1, 2023
UPTOWN NIGHTS
LATIN MUSIC SERIES
YASSER TEJEDA & DJ SABINE BLAIZIN (OYASOUND)
DECEMBER 9, 2023
WATERWORKS EMERGING ARTISTS SHOWCASE
FEATURING SHANTELLE
COURVOISIER JACKSON, HANNAH LEMMONS AKA
LEMMONS, BOBBY MORGAN, MARY PRESCOTT & KALÍ RODRÍGUEZ-PEÑA
JANUARY 11–13, 2024
E-MOVES
URBAN BUSH WOMEN’S HAINT BLU
JANUARY 26, 2024
UPTOWN NIGHTS
IAN ISIAH + KIMBERLY NICHOLE
FEBRUARY 16, 2024
UPTOWN NIGHTS:
CONVENT TO WYTHE yuniya edi kwon + SUN HAN GUILD
*Note: All presentations subject to change as COVID-19 conditions evolve.
MARCH 1 – 2, 2024
ETERNAL SPIRIT: VIJAY IYER & FRIENDS
CELEBRATE THE MUSIC OF ANDREW HILL
MARCH 8, 2024
UPTOWN NIGHTS
AN EVENING OF CHAMBER
MUSIC PRESENTED WITH SUGAR HILL SALON & CONCERT ARTISTS GUILD
MARCH 9, 2024
UPTOWN NIGHTS:
CONVENT TO WYTHE
BORA YOON &
R. LUKE DUBOIS AT NATIONAL SAWDUST
MARCH 22 – 23, 2024
STEW
HIGH SUBSTITUTE FOR THE DREAD LECTURER:
BARAKA JONES IN DUB
MARCH 29 – 30, 2024
WATERWORKS ESTABLISHED
ARTIST COMMISSION
AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE
banyan seed
APRIL 19 – 20, 2024
E-MOVES
BILL T. JONES/ ARNIE ZANE COMPANY
APRIL 26, 2024
PIANOS FOR DUKE
REIMAGINED: FEATURING
JASON MORAN, ABDULLAH
IBRAHIM & FRIENDS
APRIL 27, 2024
PIANOS FOR DUKE
REIMAGINED: FEATURING
JASON MORAN, ABDULLAH
IBRAHIM & FRIENDS
BENEFIT CONCERT
MAY 3 – 4, 2024
WATERWORKS ESTABLISHED
ARTIST COMMISSION
TAMAR-KALI THE SWANN
MAY 17 – 18, 2024
E-MOVES
nora chipaumire
ShebeenDUB
JUNE 3, 2024
HARLEM STAGE 40TH ANNIVERSARY GALA
JUNE 14 – 15, 2024
E-MOVES
CAMILLE A. BROWN & GUESTS: BLACK JOY
FEATURING WORKS BY CAMILLE A. BROWN, CHLOE DAVIS, JUEL D. LANE, MAYTE NATALIO, RICKEY TRIPP & MALEEK WASHINGTON
Lead support for Harlem Stage’s 40th Anniversary Season is provided by the Mellon Foundation.
Harlem Stage is the performing arts center that bridges Harlem’s cultural legacy to contemporary artists of color and dares to provide the artistic freedom that gives birth to new ideas.
For 40 years our singular mission has been to perpetuate and celebrate the unique and diverse artistic legacy of Harlem and the indelible impression it has made on American culture. We provide opportunity, commissioning, and support for artists of color, make performances easily accessible to all audiences, and introduce children to the rich diversity, excitement, and inspiration of the performing arts.
We fulfill our mission through commissioning, incubating, and presenting innovative and vital work that responds to the historical and contemporary conditions that shape our lives and the communities we serve.
Courtney F. Lee-Mitchell, President
Jamie Cannon, Vice President
Michael Young, Secretary
Mark Thomas, Treasurer
Angela Glover Blackwell
Jenna Bond
Jamila Ponton Bragg
JoAnn K. Chase
Patricia Cruz, Artistic Director & CEO
MANAGEMENT
Eric Oberstein, Managing Director
Shamar Hill, Director of Development
Shanté Skyers, Associate Director of Development
Julianna Friedman, Development Manager
Carl Hancock Rux, Associate Artistic Director/ Curator-in-Residence
Sarah McCaffery, Programming Manager and Associate Curator
Maurice Ivy, Programming Associate
Deirdre May, Senior Director of Digital Content and Marketing
Andre Padayhag, Marketing Manager and Graphic Designer
Adrienne Gomez, Box Office Manager
EDUCATION
Jordan Carter, Education & Community Engagement Manager
Bethany Cintron, Education & Community Engagement Associate
Amanda K. Ringger, Director of Production
Randi Rivera, Stage Coordinator
Clarence Taylor, Lighting Operator
Orlando Alvarado, Audio Engineer
Gabriel Fequiere Jr., Saul Ulerio, Video Operator
David Barrett, Audio / Deck Crew
Julio Collado, Deck Crew
LaChanze
Patricia Cruz
Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes
Jenette Kahn
Channing Martin
Rebecca Robertson
Tamara Tunie
Blair Washington
Rodney Bissessar, Director of Operations
Lamont Askins, Operations Associate
Acey Anderson Sr., Maintenance
NCheng LLC, Accountants/Advisors
Jake Lee, Partner
Gleni Monegro, Supervising Senior Accountant
Aon/Albert G. Ruben Company (NY)/ Claudia Kaufman, Insurance
Arts Education Consultants: Sobha Kavanakudiyil, Sierra Ray & Wendy Rojas
Blake Zidell & Associates, Public Relations
Briguel, Digital Video Services
DAS, IT Consultant
Derrick Saint Pierre/Snugg Studios, Digital Video Services
Intrepid Digital, SEO Services
JCA, Inc.: Database Consulting
Jess Medenbach, Digital Video Services
LCM/247, Digital Video Services
Lutz & Carr/Chris Bellando, Accountants
Madison Consulting Group, Matthew Laurence
Manchester Benefits, Greg Martin
Marc Millman, Photography
Robyn L. Stein, Rl Stein Group, Development Consultant
Charles Whelan, The Whelan Group Incorporated
Toma Carthens, Miriam Hernandez, Julian Norales, Nobar De leon, Andy Garcia, Fabian Franco