VCUarts The Anderson, in collaboration with the VCUarts Department of Dance + Choreography, is pleased to present Facets of Esoterics, an installation and series of performances by Sinclair Emoghene. The installation is on view at The Anderson Aug. 18 through Sept. 3 (open hours: Tues.–Fri. 12–6pm, Sat. 12–5pm). Performances include dancers Shanna Lims, Alfumega Enock, and VCUarts Dance Majors Jenna Beardsley, Jelani Taylor, and Sydney Wiggins.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Tuesdays 4:00–4:45 (Aug. 18, Aug. 25, Sept. 1)
Wednesdays 6:00–6:45 (Aug. 19, Aug. 26, Sept. 2)
Thursdays 4:00–4:45 (Aug. 20, Aug. 27, Sept. 3)
Attendance to the performances is free, though a reservation must be secured in advance. Attendance is limited to 5 guests per performance. Please note that visitors to The Anderson must maintain physical distancing when possible and wear a mask while inside the building.
Each performance is 45 minutes long and will take place in three different rooms within the Anderson on the first, second, and third floors.
To reserve your spot for a performance, visit: https://forms.gle/ESmGcKaKamdtrmfU7
Special live stream performances will take place Wednesday, Aug. 26, 6:00–6:45 and Wednesday, Sept. 2, 6:00–6:45 (RESCHEDULED*).
Sinclair’s installation and performances at the Anderson center racial equity and embellish the idea of dance as installation. Facets of Esoterics considers social locations and the impacts of the privileged in relationship to the marginalized. The dance is derived from Nigerian social, ritual, and occupational dances.
Sinclair seeks to trace and reclaim the values of his traditional dance history embedded in his practice as an African dancer within the framework of the US educational system. In Facets of Esoterics, he uses object-metaphors and site-installation in demonstrating what privilege looks like to a marginalized group through dance abstraction. The objects or props within this work are directly uprooted from Nigerian cultural dances where they might have different symbolic meanings. For example, the Yoruba Ondo Omi Obitun dance of fertility uses china plates (porcelain) in the climax of the dance performance, but Sinclair has converted the plates into an object-metaphor of abstraction to speak directly to the notion of white fragility.
For more about Facets of Esoterics and Choreographer Sinclair Emoghene, visit: http://www.sinclair.dance/ and https://arts.vcu.edu/community/news/sinclair-emoghene-facets-of-esoterics-aug-18-sept-8/.
*The Sept. 2 live stream has been rescheduled. At the request of the performers, and in support of the ongoing, experimental nature of the work, we will instead present a prerecorded broadcast of the work on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 7pm.