With the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump on the horizon, Krissy Keefer’s Dance Brigade is singing and dancing for peace and an end to politicized conflict in its 50th season.
“As we move through an intense and divisive presidential election cycle in which these issues are front and center, Dance Brigade offers A Woman’s Song for Peace with the aim of reorienting audiences to our shared humanity and desire for peace,” Keefer says. “We believe that this collaboration can unify and activate people. We offer it as a gift to our communities for healing, transformation and a vision for a way forward.”
Some history: In 1975 the Wallflower Order Dance Collective was formed in Eugene, Oregon, following the 1970s mantra of “the personal is the political.” Dubbed “an American treasure” by the Kansas City Star, at the time an all-women’s dance troupe dancing for civil rights was groundbreaking. In the decades following the dissolution of the Wallflower Order, Keefer, who was a founding member, has carried on its legacy with her Berkeley-based Dance Brigade.
“Something that set us apart 50 years ago was that we were all women with very athletic dancing, lifts, physical intimacy and martial arts, which were and still are used to convey our themes,” she says.
As an ensemble Keefer’s Brigade integrates lyrics, taiko drumming and women’s poetry to convey specific themes in their activist pieces. As an artist Keefer knows her audience and chooses to reach the communities most likely to be impacted and make a difference.
“We aren’t just making art for art’s sake; we are trying to preach to the converted, to the communities most likely to see our shows and convert the unconverted,” Keefer says.
Coordinating a seven-city tour with folk legends Ferron and Holly Near and several other featured artists has been a massive undertaking for Keefer.
“Taking 25 people on tour is huge, but fortunately everyone was so excited to do it. Holly Near is opening and we’re closing it with a group set with the band covering some really exciting songs,” Keefer says.
Near, who began her career in the 1960s, has been an active and influential voice in protest music and in the LGBT community. Throughout her 29-album career she’s worked with artists including Joan Baez and Arlo Guthrie, and was on the famous 1984 “HARP: A Time to Sing!” tour with Guthrie, Ronnie Gilbert and Pete Seeger.
Ferron, whose stage name loosely translates from French to “iron and rust,” is known by many as one of Canada’s most respected songwriters. Over her five-decade career, her guitar and vocals have been an inspiration to generations of women in and out of the folk scene. Ferron states boldly on her website, “My dream is to die a Lesbian, First Nations, Canadian.”
Among the featured artists is Christelle Durandy, whose Afro-Caribbean jazz fusion creates a vibrant musical landscape; others are Jan Martelelli, Tammy Lyne Hall, Michaelle Goerlitz and Shelley Jennings.
Near, Ferron and Durandy are all groundbreaking artists in their own right, and their talents combined with the masterful choreography of Krissy Keefer’s Dance Brigade makes this once-in-a-generation show. With original music and covers of classic Woody Guthrie and Nina Simone songs, the program is a “tribute to the past, and a vision for the future.” Expect an evening fueled by the distinct energy intrinsic to peaceful protest.
A Woman’s Song for Peace ft. Holly Near, Ferron & Dance Brigade takes place at 7:30pm on Jan. 18 at Cabrillo College’s Crocker Theater, 6500 Lower Perimeter Road, Aptos. Tickets: $25-$45. cabrillovapa.universitytickets.com
