WOODLAWN — Afro contemporary dance company Red Clay kicks off its biennial La Femme Dance Festival Thursday, shining a spotlight on some of the most accomplished Black and African choreographers in showbiz.
The fest kicks off 6 p.m. Thursday with an opening reception and fireside chat with Emmy-nominated choreographer and dancer Fatima Robinson, who’s collaborated with some of the biggest names in pop culture: The Backstreet Boys, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Michael Jackson, Pharrell Williams and more. She’s worked on Super Bowl halftime shows, corporate commercials and Broadway.
The dance luminary will share her hip-hop and pop wisdom with Chicagoans at Thursday’s opening reception at the Arts Club of Chicago, 201 E. Ontario St. She’s also hosting a sold-out masterclass Friday for professional dancers at Red Clay’s Center for Excellence, 808 E. 63rd St.
The festival closes 7:30 p.m. Saturday with three dance performances at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St. There’s the Chicago premiere of “Portraits in Red” by Paris-based Kenyan choreographer Wanjiru Kamuyu, the world premiere of Sanders-Ward’s “Unconditional Conditions” and the world premiere of “HER WOMB: Crucified, Conceived, Crescent, Congo … The Gathering” by New Orleans native Michele Gibson.
“It highlights and amplifies the work of Black women choreographers,” said Vershawn Sanders-Ward, Red Clay’s founder and artistic director. “I believe that the work that Black women, Black female artists create really shaped a lot of the culture that we experience in the world.”
Gibson’s piece will be accompanied by a live original score by Grammy Award-winning composer Adonis Rose.
“We’re expanding and growing. This is the first time we’re showcasing an international artist right alongside Chicago artists,” Sanders-Ward said. “I wanted to expand it this year to really look at all the spaces in the dance field that Black female artists are working and are killing it.”
Learn more about the festival and buy tickets here.
‘We Want To Support Chicago Artists’
A Chicago-area native, Sanders-Ward founded Red Clay Dance Company 15 years ago in Brooklyn, New York, where she attended grad school. In 2011, she brought the company back home, she said.
“We just started to build our community and saw the need specifically on the South Side for access to dance,” Sanders-Ward said. “Just accessibility across the board was a challenge and continues to be a challenge. So we wanted to root ourselves in a community that had welcomed us here and also saw value in what we had to offer.
“The meaning for Red Clay to be in Woodlawn on 63rd Street is intentional. It is not haphazard at all.”
Sanders-Ward launched La Femme Dance Festival with the Park District in 2013 and hosted four fests through 2019 before going on hiatus because of COVID-19. Five years later, it’s back for its fifth edition, Sanders-Ward said.
In honor of the company’s 15th anniversary, Sanders-Ward selected and curated the fest. Previously, artists and choreographers applied through an open call and were chosen with a panel.
One of the main goals of La Femme is to support homegrown talents and to make the arts more accessible, especially on the South Side, Sanders-Ward said.
“We want to support Chicago artists so that they stay in Chicago,” she said. “We have some phenomenal artists that have come out of the city and some that have moved on, but we want to kind of keep them home. So, a part of that is coming to artistic events like this, buying a ticket, making a donation.
“I would want people to consider, as they think about all the different things they can do during the weekend, think about investing in the art and culture that makes Chicago the city that it is.”
While the festival is only three days, Sanders-Ward said Red Clay is always open to the neighborhood.
The dance company offers a variety of programs, including a conservatory model school, adult drop-in classes, arts programs in public schools and studio rentals for local creators. It also offers paid apprenticeships for young adults called “Making the Artivist,” which teaches them how to speak up for themselves and balance being an artist and an activist.
“We’re in Woodlawn; we’re in the community. We’re accessible to come in, check out our space, check out our programming,” she said. “Just come by.”
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