Dance

The dance is strong magic. The body can fly without wings. It can sing without voice. The dance is strong magic.
The dance is life.

In 2006, I received a BA in African and African-American Studies and Dance from Washington University in St. Louis, and in 2013. I received an MFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where I focused on the spiritual and cultural significance of the dance of the African diaspora. I have performed with dance companies all over the country, including Philadanco D/2 (Philadelphia), The Slaughter Project (St. Louis), Project Motion (Memphis), Ko-Thi Dance Company (Milwaukee), Wild Space Dance Company (Milwaukee), and Hayiya Dance Theatre (Macon). I have choreographed pieces ranging from a solo one-woman show to full company performances, created my own short dance films, and produced other dance film projects. I have been a guest lecturer at universities, taught K-12 in public schools and private studios, and led movement and meditation classes for adults. I hope you enjoy some of the below excerpts from my work.

I dance not to entertain but to help people better understand each other. Because through dance I have experiend the wordless joy of freedom. -Pearl Primus

Why do I dance? Dance is my medicine.

The Four World Ages (2023)

“The Four World Ages” draws on Nigerian-Igbo myth to tell the history of humanity as it unfolds through four eras: the Age of Divine Unity, the Age of Self-Awareness, the Age of Civilization, and our current Age of Chaos. This piece features four dancers adorned with body paint as they enact this sweeping saga, and it employs dynamic projections, innovative light design, and spatial augmented reality components that blend artificial intelligence, computer vision, motion capture technology, custom-built software, and real-time 3D rendering. The first live performance occurred on July 29, 2023, at The Yard on Martha's Vineyard, MA.

Movement Director: Marquita Sams

Creative Director: Marques Redd

Art Director: Mikael Owunna

Assistant Director: Dominique Swift

Dancers: Ashley Eleby, Billy J Hawkains III, Jordan Cowan, Rishell Maxwell

Engineers: Jiajian Zhang, Keyin Wu, Kyungseo Cho, Shuyue Wang, Yuan Suo

Production Designer: Eileen Goddard

Costume Designers: Quenette Brooks and Sophie Leininger

Four World Ages

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Obi Mbu (The Primoridial House) (2021)

Obi Mbu (The Primordial House) (2021) is a 30-minute experimental dance film that is centered in the Primordial House, located in the Sirius star system, from which creation emerges. Eke-Nnechukwu, the Igbo high god, and Chukwu, Her masculine counterpart, exist in perfect unity in and as the Blackness of space. Although They are dual aspects of the Primordial Androgynous deity, Chukwu sections off a part of space exclusively for Himself in the form of a sacred pillared chamber in the heart of the Primordial House. He engages in a secret work by dancing in and out of this chamber, which sets off a chain of irrevocable circumstances that lead to our current world and condition.

Homecoming

Choreography by Marquita Sams

Presented at Washington University in St. Louis

Directors: Mikael Owunna & Marques Redd

Movement Director: Ursula Payne

Chukwu: Corey Bourbonniere

Eke-Nnechukwu: Victoria Watford

Sound Design: Herman Pearl / soy s0s

Producer: Marquita Sams

Production Assistant: Isabelle Analo

Movement Consultant: Marquita Sams

Searching for One

Choreography by Marquita Sams and Marianne Bell

Presented at Project Motion in Memphis, TN

the rainbow isn't enuf