Thursday, November 14, 1996
DANCE:
UCLA graduate utilizes talent to address pressing social
concernsBy Karla Kelsey
Daily Bruin Contributor
Lula Washington, choreographer and dancer, is a woman of
determination and passion. When she fell in love with dance nothing
could stop her, although some people tried.
Washington, then in her twenties, was told that she was too old
to start a career. Also, she was married and had a child, things
that would make the hard life of a dancer even more difficult. But,
after Washington was introduced to dance by watching the Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theater, there was no holding her back.
Los Angelenos can help Washington celebrate her artistic success
when her company, the Lula Washington Dance Theatre, performs its
16th anniversary concert at Cal State Los Angeles.
But this success hasn’t come easily. Washington has leaped over
many obstacles.
"I had no idea dancing was something that would be possible for
me as a black person," Washington says. "And there is a standard
discrimination in dance where people think there is an age
limit."
She has proven these discouraging factors wrong. Washington’s
life as a dancer may have started later than most, but she has made
up for lost time. A graduate of UCLA, who also came back for her
masters degree, she has performed in Las Vegas, at the Academy
Awards, and in several films. She is the Founder and Artistic
Director of a dance company and school in South Central L.A.
Working as a choreographer, an artistic director, and a dancer, she
has extensive credits and her works give the repertory company its
signature style.
The artistic road that Washington dances down is not only paved
with the achievements of the present. Her roots have not been
forgotten. Her works explore difficult social issues that have
always surrounded her.
She creates pieces that deal with her experiences and her
heritage. Issues she highlights in her work include her experience
growing up in Watts, the L.A. riots, women’s rights, civil rights,
apartheid, and other aspects of African-American history and
culture.
"Basically, my work comes from my experiences and they deal with
where I am," Washington says. "I will always create from the
sources and environment will always be a part of whatever work I
create."
"What About Watts?," one of the two of Washington’s works that
will be performed at Cal State L.A., is about the realities of gang
culture. It is a hip-hop/modern dance piece set to rap music by
Tupac Shakur, Yella, and other artists.
Washington is all too well acquainted with the violence of gang
life. Her young nephew died in the midst of gang violence and she
bases the piece on a vision of changing Watts. "It is a hopeful
piece," says Erwin Washington, her husband and the company’s
Executive Director. "But it shows the gritty, negative violence of
gangs. It calls on young people to go a different way."
Washington’s other piece, "Jookin", is a rhythm and blues suite
set to the music of top R&B singers. The dancers’ soulful
movements accompany the tunes of Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin,
Smoky Robinson, B.B. King and Ray Charles.
The program at Cal State L.A. also includes works by two other
choreographers. "Songs of the Disinherited" is by choreographer
Donald McKayle, and "Just-Us: Physical Property" is by Ron Brown, a
professor at UCLA.
Brown’s work is fresh and experimental in content and form. It
is an all male, mixed media piece set to the music of the Kronos
Quartet and poetry by the Last Poets.
Aerial dynamics, acrobatics, intense physicality, and partnering
are elements Brown uses to take the piece off the floor and get it
into the air. "I didn’t see why the partnering couldn’t be done by
two males," Brown says. "I wanted to do something that is not so
grounded. The guys are really good at this."
One of the concepts that this work is based on is the drug
infiltration in the African American community. Some of the ideas
behind the piece grew from Maxine Waters’ campaign for the
investigation of the CIA and the drug cartels.
The program as a whole uniquely shows different facets of the
human experience. "All of the pieces relate to the African-American
experience on different levels and of different generations," Brown
says. "We all deal with the experiences that are important to us
but we have the same message  identifying issues still
plaguing society."
After the dancing has stopped, the music is quiet, and the
issues have been identified, it is natural to look for a successful
way to solve them. It’s easy to look to Washington herself for a
method. After all, she has succeeded in overcoming all of the
obstacles society gave to her.
"Success has to do with your concept of what you really want to
do," Washington says. "If there is something you want to do, go
ahead and do it. If you have a strong passion go with it. But you
must have a passion for it because it is going to be hard. The only
person who can stop you is yourself. I have always believed that
all things are possible if you persevere."
DANCE: The Lula Washington Dance Theater will perform at the
Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State Los Angeles Nov. 16 at 8
p.m. and Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $30, $25 general and $12
student. Call TicketMaster at (213)480-3232 for tickets.