Arkansas native Lula Washington, who founded the Los Angeles-based Lula Washington Dance Theatre, returns to her home state for the first time for two concerts in the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall at UCA on Feb. 21 and 22, at 7:30 p.m. each night.
Tickets range from $23 to $35, and there is a $10 student ticket, all seats, all sections, pending availability. Contact UCA Ticket Central toll free from anywhere in Arkansas at 866-810-0012 between 10 am and 4 pm, Monday through Friday.
In a recent conversation with UCA Public Appearances, Washington said, “Coming back to Arkansas has been a dream of mine for a long time. I left Arkansas at a very young age. This is an opportunity for me to come back and speak with a cultural voice, my voice, and with my company, to bring dance pieces that will speak to all people, not just to African-Americans.” She concluded, “I feel that I am coming full circle, coming back to my birthplace to meet people and share the art of movement and dance, to tell the stories and the struggles that we have all gone through. It is a dream come true.”
The Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN), located next to Reynolds Performance Hall on the UCA campus, will film Washington and her company while they are in residence, as well as the entire Friday night concert.
Repertoire for the concerts includes the world premiere of a new work by Ms. Washington entitled “The Nine,” based on the events of the nine African-American students as they attempted to integrate Central High School in Little Rock in 1957. Washington was attending a segregated elementary school in Los Angeles at the time and witnessed the Little Rock Central High School events from the unique perspective of a child.
As part of its Arkansas residency, Lula Washington Dance Theatre will spend most of the day of Feb. 20 at Parkview Arts Magnet High School in Little Rock, performing for and teaching the Parkview Dancers, under the direction of Michael Tidwell.
The LWDT company will conduct an ?Open Rehearsal? during X-period (1:40 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.) in Reynolds Performance Hall on Thursday, February 21, prior to their opening night concert.
Information about Lula Washington Dance Theatre can be found online at www.lulawashington.com.