I am overwhelmed by the enthusiasm, the feedback and the residual response to my One-Woman Show: Nefertiti Walks which premiered in the 2016 Art All Night DC Festival Sept 24. It was a 23 minute long performance, a timeline of Nefertiti as an Ancient Queen traveling to various places throughout the Globe.
As, I recall the events leading up to my performance I can say that I found myself dreaming one day and one-woman tour of the world as a solo performance artist. I've been inspired by Nejla Yatkin, a Turkish native woman who shares dancing with the world and has set a number of works on professional dance companies. My encounter with her work "What Dreams May Come" first in Chicago and again in Washington DC at Dance Place gave me an idea of where I could begin. From this piece, I was given the permission to as an artist to create the environment for which my story could come alive: set, props, lighting, and costuming.
I concluded the performance by asking the audience if they had any feedback and or questions regarding the work, as it was a Work In Progress. Then with the final statement, "Thank you, your presence is all I need" the show was adjourned and I went on to prepare for the next one. Nefertiti Walks was performed four (4) times that evening with the last one being at 2 am. I was shocked to find that I had a an audience at such a late hour, a group of Howard University students.
The concept of Nefertiti Walks that a Young Queen is re-imagined in various identities of Black Women from all over of the world. She remains herself, Nefertiti a coddled, sheltered and desirous character however she is seeing through the lens of someone else. As her environment changes so does she, unveiling a new part of herself that wouldn't have otherwise been discovered in the throws of Royalty. In this segment, Nefertiti transforms before the audience changing from one costume to the next. In doing so she is under the watch of an mystic figure up above which she periodically referes to throughout the piece. She looks to the sky, the Sun God who is essentially a timekeeper literally in the sense of conducting the time of day into night while in a metaphorical sense as the Sun is often characterized as male or masculine suggesting that she is under the careful watch of "The Man".
The Ancient Queen was last seen dancing the saga of a Black Woman riding the subway in NYC.
Look for a reappearance of Nefertiti Walks in Spring 2017 in Washington DC at Dance Place Dance Africa Festival!
As, I recall the events leading up to my performance I can say that I found myself dreaming one day and one-woman tour of the world as a solo performance artist. I've been inspired by Nejla Yatkin, a Turkish native woman who shares dancing with the world and has set a number of works on professional dance companies. My encounter with her work "What Dreams May Come" first in Chicago and again in Washington DC at Dance Place gave me an idea of where I could begin. From this piece, I was given the permission to as an artist to create the environment for which my story could come alive: set, props, lighting, and costuming.
I concluded the performance by asking the audience if they had any feedback and or questions regarding the work, as it was a Work In Progress. Then with the final statement, "Thank you, your presence is all I need" the show was adjourned and I went on to prepare for the next one. Nefertiti Walks was performed four (4) times that evening with the last one being at 2 am. I was shocked to find that I had a an audience at such a late hour, a group of Howard University students.
The concept of Nefertiti Walks that a Young Queen is re-imagined in various identities of Black Women from all over of the world. She remains herself, Nefertiti a coddled, sheltered and desirous character however she is seeing through the lens of someone else. As her environment changes so does she, unveiling a new part of herself that wouldn't have otherwise been discovered in the throws of Royalty. In this segment, Nefertiti transforms before the audience changing from one costume to the next. In doing so she is under the watch of an mystic figure up above which she periodically referes to throughout the piece. She looks to the sky, the Sun God who is essentially a timekeeper literally in the sense of conducting the time of day into night while in a metaphorical sense as the Sun is often characterized as male or masculine suggesting that she is under the careful watch of "The Man".
The Ancient Queen was last seen dancing the saga of a Black Woman riding the subway in NYC.
Look for a reappearance of Nefertiti Walks in Spring 2017 in Washington DC at Dance Place Dance Africa Festival!
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