Ogemdi Ude: Major

Sat, Jan 31 @ 8:00 p.m.
On the Boards, Seattle

Details

Rooted in deep cultural memory and archival research, six Black femmes channel the power and poetry of majorette dance in a fierce investigation of memory, sensuality, and pride.

MAJOR is a dance theater project exploring the physicality, history, sociopolitics, and interiority of majorette dance, a form that originated in the American South within Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the 1960s. These Black femme teams, accompanied by marching bands, created a movement style that requires master showmanship with allegiance to count, undulation, groove, and sensual yet strong performativity.

In MAJOR, six Black femmes embrace majorette form—a fundamental relic of Black girlhood—to pursue the intimate journey of returning to bodies they thought lost. Experiments in improvised and verbatim language intertwine with a music score that integrates Southern rap, horns, drumlines, and melodic R&B and soul by Lambkin.

The Chord Archive is showcased alongside performances, a physical and digital documentation of the creative process, and personal historical accounts from former majorette dancers.

A fierce investigation of physical memory, sexuality, sensuality, and community, MAJOR is a nuanced love letter to the folks who taught the team how to be proudly Black and proudly femme.

$24.50 - $272.50