Arts
In our first episode of the 2019-2020 season, Micah and Chuy sat down for a conversation with the co-artistic directors of Urban Bush Women—a stirring contemporary dance company committed to pushing the boundaries of storytelling through spoken word, movement, and singing artists. Listen in to hear Chanon Judson-Johnson and Samantha Speis discuss UBW's unique history, dedication to training Builders, Organizers, and Leaders through Dance, commitment to community engagement, and their latest work, Hair & Other Stories, which Judson-Johnson calls "a kitchen conversation about systemic racism". Drawn from personal and public narratives centered on individual identity in a collective culture, Hair & Other Stories investigates issues of body image, race, gender identity, economic inequity, and more. Hair & Other Stories will be performed on the Hancher stage on Saturday, September 21. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at the Iowa City Public Library on Tuesday, September 17, 2019. For more information about the company, visit https://www.urbanbushwomen.org/.