JUNIOR SCHOLARS PROGRAM

DANCE & THEATER

By Any Means Necessary

pROJECT

presented by

The Schomburg Center

Junior Scholars

In these times, the Junior Scholar Dancers have been focusing on how to foster community through uncertainty. Each week we engaged the scholars in meditation, dance therapy and with guest speakers who inspired hope. We decided, in the spirit of community, to create a video highlighting all of the scholars dancing to the tune “Beans and Cornbread” from the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s 1992 film, Malcolm X. The dancers incorporated modern and jazz techniques they learned while also creating their own choreography for the piece. We chose this song because it suggests that we all have more similarities than differences and if we shift our focus to a unified message, that is where true change can begin.

- Kim Curtis, Dance Instructor

Special thanks to Rachel Morrison for her guidance, inspiration, and passion.

Beans & Cornbread

by JSP Dancers

The Junior Scholars Theater Group, or BLACTORS, created Public Service Announcements and satirical skits inspired by BlackIssuesISSUES, a fictitious magazine. BLACTORS researched various issues and also the history of subversive satire and humor to relay information in ways that are equally serious and silly. From Anansi the Spider to In Living Color, Black people have a long history of showcasing resilience and infinite Black JOY through huor. Black people have been masters of using levity to endure over 400 years of systemic racial oppression. “Laughter IS medicine.” BLACTORS developed skits and characters based on the following questions:

What if the world revolved around Blackness? What issues do Black people face in NYC, in the USA and throughout the diaspora? The BLACTORS then utilized the blexicon, a made-up language of terms like Blagedy (Black + Tragedy), Blurgent (Black + Urgent), Blenius (Black + Genius) etc. to reposition whiteness and highlight the gross inequity that Black people experience.

- Kanene Ayo, Theater Instructor