Re(verb), a new tap dance work that puts the ring shout – a black Southern cultural tradition tied to spiritual contexts – and Motown movements in conversation. The work considers how elements of the black cultural archive and black religious discourse function within ritual and black spiritual expression. Set to music that ranges from gospel to seventies funk, Re(verb) uses the interplay of these two movement styles to subvert the way that we discuss black spirituality as separate from secular black culture. With that in mind, this piece uses tap dance legacies – namely that of Cholly Atkins, a tap dancer and choreographer for Motown – to explore black culture and movement as extensions of the divine and of community.

Time: 50-60 minutes