Dance Theater Workshop

presents

Queen GodIs

in

Project Power U!: part III

as part of the

Studio Series

March 27-28, 2009 at 7:30pm


New York, NY, February 25, 2009 – At the close of her 100-hour residency in Dance Theater Workshop's Studio Series, acclaimed Poetry, Hip Hop, Theater, and Soul Music artist Queen GodIs presents Project Power U!: part III. This new solo performance delivers raw imagery and brings to light fresh revelations about society and its relationship to the female body. Witty, intelligent, and boldly honest, her mission is to use the "beautiful struggle" of womanhood to re-examine and re-script how we view ourselves, our communities, and our relationships.


"…if you love the purest parts of Lauryn Hill but secretly wish she would make a record with Andre 3000, it won't be hard for you to embrace this [artist] for [her] straight forward soul aspects and the abstract hip hop angles that she delves into flawlessly." -Cdbaby.com


Project Power U!: part III is the third in a series of choreo-poems derived from the artist's debut album 'Power U!' - Written and Performed by Queen GodIs, and Co-Directed and Choreographed by Nicco Annan. This piece features a stunning soundtrack performed by Queen GodIs and seasoned actor/artist Erwin Thomas, Co-Produced by members of The Trifecta – one of NYC's shining hip hop and multi-media production groups.


Performances will take place at Dance Theater Workshop in David R. White Studio on the third floor, March 27-28 (Friday – Saturday at 7:30pm). There will be a Post-Performance talk with David Sheingold on March 28 (Saturday). Tickets are free with a suggested donation of $5 at the door. Tickets can be reserved in person at the box office or by calling (212) 924-0077. Dance Theater Workshop is located at 219 West 19th Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues.


About the Artist


Queen GodIs is an esteemed artist whose work is a dynamic fusion of Poetry, Hip Hop, Theater, and Soul Music. Her features have included the Trans Atlantic Music Festival (France), BAM Opera House, Nokia Theater, Apollo Theater

Sound Stage, Kennedy Center, NJPAC, artistic residency (India) and The Royal Shakespeare Company (UK).



Her celebrated debut album, POWER U! also highlights GodIs as producer, engineer and MC. Her poetry has been featured live at HBO's Def Poetry Jam, Robert Townsend's Spoken and most recently published in two major releases by Afro-European singing duo Les Nubians. Queen has also had spotlight segments on prestigious radio programs such as BBC, MTV radio, NPR, and WBAI.


Queen originally debuted her musical theater piece "BIRTH of POWER U!" (part I) directed by Tamilla Woodard off-Broadway in 2007, followed by an international tour of her work. The tour was jump-started with a stint as artistic director of a week-long master class in Hip Hop and Spoken Word Poetry at the renowned Contact Theater in Manchester, UK. She presented "Untitled # 69" (part II of her choreo-poem series) directed by Una Osato with the Hip Hop Theater Festival on Tour in 2008.


Other credits include: performance art therapy, education consultant, guest lecturer and youth mentor. She coached the 2008 and 2007 Urban Word NYC Teen Poetry Slam Teams which went on to rank top 2 and 3 in the nation respectively. The process will be featured in a special documentary series produced by HBO films and Simmons/ Lathan Media Group in the Spring of 2009.


The Studio Series brings new artistic voices to Dance Theater Workshop and opens our studios for public showings. Eight artists each year receive a 100-hour creative residency in our studios and a commission/stipend. This residency gives each artist the opportunity to research and develop work in a raw, process-oriented space. The outcomes are shared through two informal presentations by each artist, inviting the audience to see work at different stages of development. Studio Series artists are curated internally by the Artistic Director in conjunction with Programming staff and guest curators from Urban Word NYC and Dance Theater Workshop's season artists.


Founded on the belief that teenagers can and must speak for themselves, Urban Word NYC™ (UW) has been at the forefront of the youth spoken word, poetry and hip-hop movements in New York City since 1999. Urban Word NYC presents literary arts education and youth development programs in the areas of creative writing, journalism, college prep, literature and hip-hop. UW provides FREE, safe and uncensored writing workshops to teens year round, and hosts the Annual NYC Teen Poetry Slam, NY Knicks Poetry Slam, local and national youth slams, festivals, reading series, open mics, and more. UW works directly with 15,000 teens per year in New York City alone, and as a steering committee member of the National Youth Spoken Word Coalition, has partner programs in 45 cities. UW also has a vigorous community educator and teacher training series which links inquiry-based classroom practices with the most progressive academic trends in student-centered pedagogy.


Urban Word NYC believes that free self-expression - matured in an enhanced critical literacy environment - improves self confidence and strengthens educational achievement for NYC's inner city youth. We promote active literacy, critical thought, and positive social dialogue across boundaries of age, race, class, gender, culture, and sexuality. Our many workshops are designed to enhance critical thinking skills, leadership, and to ignite a personal commitment to growth and learning which leads to heightened in-school performance, and greater interest in pursuing higher education. urbanwordnyc.org


Project Power U!: part III is commissioned by Dance Theater Workshop's Commissioning and Creative Residency Program with support from The Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the Jerome Robbins Foundation.


Digital pictures and press kits are available on request.