Storytelling through Dance with Urban Bush Women

National dance company leads demonstration and workshop at Clark through Arts@Clark

On Feb. 3, Clark College hosted Urban Bush Women, a national dance company, for a two-part event that combined performance with education and community engagement. The visit marked a historic moment: it was the first time a national dance company from New York City performed on Gaiser Hall’s stage, bringing Clark students, employees, and community members into direct conversation with professional dancers whose work focused on storytelling and cultural memory. 

The event was part of Clark College Foundation’s Arts@Clark initiative and a collaboration with the Women’s Studies and Physical Education departments. It included a lecture-demonstration followed by an interactive workshop titled “Dance for Every Body”.  

This is also the first time Clark College Foundation partnered with the White Bird dance organization in Portland, Oregon. Urban Bush Women traveled to the area to perform at the Newmark Theatre Feb. 6 and Feb. 7 as part of White Bird's series, during which Ruth Wikler from the Foundation will also be facilitating a special post-show discussion on Feb. 6. 

Founded in 1984, Urban Bush Women was created in response to the limited representation of Black and brown stories in the dance world, particularly Black and brown women. The company's work centers on stories of resistance, celebration, and education, using both body and voice to tell stories that can be both personal and communal. 

In addition to seven dancers and two musicians, Urban Bush Women's performance at Clark featured Rehearsal Director and Movement Coach, Bennalldra Williams, and Associate Artistic Director, Cheri Stokes.

Performance that Invites Participation

The lecture-demonstration began with a physical warm-up led by Bennalldra, who prepared the dancers both physically and emotionally for the stories they would share. The demonstration invited participation, as audience members were guided through simple arm movements designed to be done anywhere, encouraging them to wake up their bodies and senses. 

Cheri, who narrated the warm-up process for the audience, then introduced a movement-based game for the dancers to explore risk-taking and awareness. An audience volunteer was invited to join the game, practicing responsiveness in their movements. 

The dancers also explored cyphers, a practice in which individuals take turns moving in the center of a circle. Cheri described it as finding your “mother tongue,” or the movement you would do before being told what you should do. Their movements evolved but would always return to their mother tongue. 

During the demonstration, the company shared excerpts from several works, each showcasing the power behind Urban Bush Women’s legacy of storytelling. “Contemplation on Legacy” explored the relationship between individuality and collective power, while “Give Your Hands to Struggle” examined where we choose to place our hands and energy, representing ancestors and picking up the torch to carry forward what came before us. 

“As strong as we are individually, we gather even more power when we work as a community,” Bennalldra said. 

“Shelter” was created in 1988 and was performed with live musicians. It uses the same choreography from its inception while allowing the voice and energy to shift to match the emotions of today. The dance had an urgent energy, felt when the musician voiced: “My people have been moving, migrating, shifting, fleeing a long time,” and emphasizing that forced movement “can happen to you, too.” 

The demonstration concluded with “Batty Moves,” a celebratory piece that reclaimed and honored the body. Through rapping and chanting, dancers shared personal stories while cheering one another on, creating an atmosphere of affirmation.

"Dance for Every Body"

Later that day, Urban Bush Women hosted "Dance for Every Body,” an interactive workshop that invited participants of all experience levels to move alongside the dancers. 

The workshop began with one dancer asking the group to share how they were feeling in their bodies, accompanied by a movement that represented that emotion. Some were excited — they shook their arms and wiggled their bodies in anticipation of the dance moves. But many expressed hesitancy about the workshop — shoulders shrugged or hunched in nervousness. As the session progressed, those doubts gave way to playfulness, and eventually, confidence. 

After thoroughly warming up as a group by stretching and moving around the room, participants took turns strutting across the room, combining rhythm with moments of individuality. The emphasis was not on technique, but on expression. 

At the end of the workshop, participants returned to the opening question: how do you feel in your body? This time, responses reflected a shift from nerves to a shared sense of community. 

Urban Bush Women’s visit to Clark extended beyond Gaiser Hall. Later in the week, Bennalldra led a one-hour workshop for nursing students at WSU Vancouver. The session focused on body awareness and articulation, connecting physical self-awareness to mental presence and patient care.

Attend an Urban Bush Women Performance

Urban Bush Women will be performing at the Newmark Theatre in Portland, Oregon on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7 as part of the White Bird series. Ruth Wikler from Clark College Foundation will be facilitating a special post-show discussion on Feb. 6, thanks to the Foundation's partnership with White Bird. Purchase tickets to attend one of their performances here.

Learn More at Arts@Clark

Arts@Clark is an initiative of Clark College Foundation that elevates Clark College’s visual, digital, performing, literary, and culinary arts programs while strengthening connections between the College and the Southwest Washington community. Through partnerships with faculty and visiting artists, Arts@Clark Presents offers a curated series of performances, workshops, and other public events — many free or low-cost and family-friendly — that introduce national and international artists to Clark County while creating meaningful, hands-on learning opportunities for students. Community members are invited to attend events and support this work through the Foundation’s Performing Arts Initiatives Fund or other Arts@Clark programs, helping ensure the arts remain a vibrant bridge between college and community. 

Photos: Clark College/Maureen Chan-Hefflin and Malena Goerl; Urban Bush Women/Makeda Smith

Story by Malena Goerl, Staff Writer, Communications and Marketing