Identities and Creative Processes

Swing Out is a captivating stage presentation with artists in residence at Northrop in Fall 2020 in anticipation of a Fall 2021 performance. The production celebrates the passion and power of the African-American born dance form—the Lindy Hop, which started in the community of Harlem, but swept the globe. The re-popularization of Swing Dance in the 1990s significantly altered the representation of African-Americans in the art form, while the cultural values held within the dance moved beyond to create a global community. Swing Out brings together a cast of performers who inhabit many roles within the art form; as such it is a model for how people with potentially polarized identities can communicate and collaborate. Swing Out members LaTasha Barnes and Gaby Cook will discuss the artistic process of creating the performance.