Upcoming Artist-in-Residence: LaTasha Barnes
Assistant Professor LaTasha Barnes poses for a portrait on the ASU Tempe campus Wednesday afternoon May 17, 2023. Barnes is an internationally recognized and awarded dancer, choreographer, educator, performer, cultural ambassador and Tradition-bearer of Black American Social Dance. Photo by Deanna Dent/Arizona State University.
By Sophie Bush
BU Dance is excited to announce that in collaboration with the BU Arts Initiative, we will be hosting LaTasha Barnes for a week-long residency from March 18 – 22! Barnes is a renowned scholar of Black Vernacular Social Dance, which includes styles like Hip Hop, Jazz, Swing, and Tap. The culmination of her time here will be an informal showing from 9 – 10 pm on Thursday, March 21 titled, “The Continuum Speaks,” which will include: an improvisational score on Dance Theatre Group (DTG) students, choreography set by Barnes for dancers, select video excerpts of her performances and choreography, and ending in a Q&A session. The showing is free and open to the public and will take place in the Boston University Dance Theatre, which can be accessed through the Buick Street entrance of 915 Commonwealth Avenue.
Throughout her five days in residence, Barnes will share her knowledge and extensive research on Black Vernacular Social Dance with our students in select PDP and CFA classes, the BU Community, and the general public. If you are a BU student interested in taking class with Barnes, email budance@bu.edu to inquire. She will be providing a valuable opportunity to learn about the connections between community and academic practices, and address how we maintain authentic cultural context and acknowledge Black dance traditions.
Barnes possesses an incredible resume of work and achievements! Barnes holds a Masters in Ethnochoreology, Black Studies and Performance Studies through New York University Gallatin School (2019) and researches bridging the gap between communities of practice and academic cultural dance research, performance, preservation, and pedagogy. She is part of the Brain Trust that developed the stage production, Swing Out, which displays the passion and power of Lindy Hop. The NY Times said of Swing Out, which was a collaboration with Caleb Teicher, that “Barnes is especially extraordinary for the way the past and the present can pass through her…” Barnes is the Artistic Director of the intergenerational and intercommunal cultural arts experience The Jazz Continuum, which recently performed at the Kennedy Center. Barnes is a contributing author to Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century (University Press of Florida). As Assistant Professor of Dance at Arizona State University, she continues to inspire fellow artists to champion activism through cultivating an authentic sense of self and intention in their creative expressions and daily lives.
If you would like to learn and perform choreography by LaTasha, you have two opportunities!
- Attend a rehearsal from 1:30 – 4 pm at 808 Commonwealth Ave in Studio 254. This rehearsal will be focused on setting a piece for the informal showing on March 21. Pre-registration, intermediate-level dance experience, and status as a BU student are required! Sign-up here. Sign-up will close when we reach capacity, so register ASAP!
- Attend Barnes’ masterclass on March 21! Barnes will be teaching the masterclass and setting a structured improvisation from 7 – 8:30 pm which will also be performed at “The Continuum Speaks.”
We hope to see you make the most of LaTasha Barnes’ presence on campus! She is an incredible dance scholar, teacher, and performer, so take every opportunity you can to learn from her.