Moonshine

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(2018 pick) Dance professor Chris Walker has organized a collection of spoken word, African-Caribbean dance, hip-hop and drumming in honor of Black History Month. Walker is the artistic director of the hip-hop scholarship program First Wave and the producer of Dubwise, for which he received a Madison Arts Grant. Moonshine is part of the UW Dance Department’s Friday Forum series, which aims to bring the wider Madison community together for performances and post-show discussions.

press release: Due to its immense popularity, the Dance Department is expanding Moonshine to create more opportunities for campus and community members to engage with Black art and recognize its contributions to American culture during Black History Month. This year, Moonshine will be an immersive experience in Black culture and Black dance that will feature a series of masterclasses and two free performances including an evening concert by Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago. 

Friday's afternoon performance at 3:30 p.m. in the H'Doubler Performance Space will feature guest artists, and UW-Madison First Wave alumni James Gavins and Jamie Dawson, Chicago dance artist Amansu Eason and a performance by Muntu Dance Theater.  

All events are free and open to the public! The evening concert - unda di Moonshine featuring MUNTU Dance Theatre, will be TICKETED. Tickets for this performance are free, but may only be picked up at the door at Lathrop Hall one hour (7:00 p.m.) before the show.

A Pan-African Masterclass will follow the afternoon performances, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Participants will experience traditional and contemporary dance forms and music including Afro Haitian, Afro Brazilian, Afro Cuban, Afro-Caribbean, Dancehall, Afro Pop fusion and Hip Hop to live percussion. This class will feature dance artists from Chicago's Muntu Dance Theatre and the Dance Department's Chris Walker.

The Black Cultural Center will present a performance installation of the 1969 Black Student Strike in the Virginia Harrison Parlor, Lathrop Hall at 7:00 p.m. immediately before the evening concert.

The evening concert will begin at 8:00 p.m. and will be ticketed. Tickets may be picked up at the door one hour before the performance. 

This event was made possible with support from the Dance Department, the Black Cultural Center, the Multicultural Student Center, the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives, the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement and the Anonymous Fund.