Wikipedia

LaTasha Barnes

LaTasha Barnes is an American dancer, educator, and choreographer.[1][2] She is the creator and director of The Jazz Continuum, an African roots-based production encompassing Lindy Hop, house dance, locking, breaking, voguing, and jazz dance that connects dance of the swing era to dance today. The show debuted at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City in 2021, and continues to tour in the U.S.[3][4]

LaTasha Barnes in 2024

Early years

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LaTasha Barnes was born in Richmond, Virginia, where she was exposed to music at an early age, having a DJ father. During elementary school Barnes took dance classes, and traded moves with her cousins and friends from New York and Washington DC.[5] Due to her father's role as an Active Guard Reserve, Barnes became involved in the junior Marine Corps and Junior ROTC.[1] After graduating from high school, she enlisted in the Army in 1998 and became a satellite communications operator, sergeant first class.[6] After serving five years in the army, she was hired by the White House Communications Agency in Washington, D.C.[1] In 2004 Barnes was hit by a car, injuring her lower back, hip, and breaking her wrist. While coming back from these injuries, Barnes took a hip-hop class in "popping" and regained mobility. Her popping teacher introduced her to Junious Brickhouse, founder of Urban Artistry company in Washington, DC. Barnes began studying house dance and in time joined the leadership team. In 2011, Barnes and her dance partner Toyin Sogunro placed first in a dance battle at Juste Debout in Paris.[5]

Performing career

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In the 2010s, Barnes became more interested in jazz dance and its African American origins, and particularly Lindy Hop, realizing it was closely related to the house styles she had been doing.[5] She attended the International Lindy Hop Championships and other Lindy Hop competitions, where she won awards for her dancing. At times, she mingled her house and jazz styles.[5] In 2016, she won a solo jazz jazz competition at the Herräng Dance Camp in Sweden,[7][8] and won first place in the Advanced Jack & Jill Lindy Hop Championships with her partner Jason Hizon.[9] In 2017, she won second place in the Lindyfest All-Star Jack and Jill Lindy Hop Championships with partner Blake Thiessen.[10] In 2019, she won the Luck of the Draw contest with partner Nick Williams at the International Lindy Hop Championships.[11] Barnes continued placing in dance competitions[10] and performing internationally.[12]

During this time period, Barnes began a collaboration with Caleb Teicher & Friends.[13] Caleb Teicher is a dancer and choreographer who won Bessie Awards in 2011 and 2019, as well as the 2019 New York City Center Choreographic Fellowship.[14] [15] The collaboration resulted in the 2021 show "Swing Out," currently touring the U.S.[16] This show, rooted in African American dance from the late 1800s and early 1900s, is a mix of tap and vernacular jazz (e.g. the cakewalk, the Charleston, the Black Bottom and the Lindy Hop). Company members dance to a live, onstage band playing tunes from the swing era. The show, produced by the Joyce Theater in New York, was created by Teicher along with a small group of collaborators including Barnes.[17][18]

Barnes' recent show, The Jazz Continuum continues to tour the U.S as of October 2024.[19] This production aims to "close the gap between contemporary Black dances and their predecessors."[20] Backed by Barnes' scholarly research into African diasporic forms, the show is an homage to the dancers who laid the foundation of Black vernacular dance in the 1920s-40s, known as the "jazz age."[1][21] The show is meant to represent dancing from social spaces including clubs, ballrooms, and parties and incorporates an improvisational spirit.[20] Critic Janine Parker noted that the show incorporates various dance styles such as the Lindy Hop, soft shoe, and hip hop, where a live band of four musicians interacts with the dancers.[22] The titular "jazz continuum" is created by connecting creative figures from the early 20th century such as Norma Miller and Frankie Manning with contemporary jazz material.[23] The show became a New York Times critics' pick for 2022.[24]

Educator

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As an educator, Barnes teaches African diasporic dance forms including hip hop and popular dance forms at Arizona State University,[8] as well as swing dance and related styles as a guest artist at conferences[25][26] and other universities.[27] As part of her teaching, Barnes explains the key role of African Americans in developing African diasporic dance forms including hip hop, swing dance, and jazz dance.[6] In 2016, Barnes performed with well-known swing dancers from an earlier generation including Norma Miller, Chester Whitmore, Barbara Billups, and Sugar Sullivan.[28][5] Because of her experience with these elders and her own extended family,[28] Barnes has taken on some of the responsibility for keeping the history of vernacular Black dance forms alive.[20]

Barnes was also a teacher[29] and performer at the Mother City Hop Jazz Festival in Cape Town, South Africa in 2019.[30] In addition to her work abroad, she has served as a panelist and choreographer at cultural institutions and universities. For instance in 2018, she served as a panelist on the history of Lindy Hop at the Lincoln Center of Performing Arts.[31] In 2023, she lectured on Hip-Hop dance at Arizona State University.[32] In 2024, she did a five-day residency at Boston University where she taught classes and choreography.[33]

As she became more involved in authentic jazz dance, and Lindy Hop in particular,[5] Barnes began a self-designed master's program in Ethnochoreology, Black Studies, and Performance Studies|[34] at New York University's Gallatin School.[5] Barnes interviewed Black dancers for her thesis, which explores the connections among jazz, funk, hip-hop, and house dance, and investigates why many Black dancers were not aware of these connections.[5][35]

In 2021, Barnes was hired as an Assistant Professor, then promoted to Associate Professor[8] of Dance at the Arizona State University School of Music, Dance, and Theater.[35] She teaches several courses including all levels of Hip Hop; House dance; Authentic Jazz Dance; Dance in U.S. Popular Culture; Creative Practice, and others.[8] In addition, she co-directs the yearly Sol Power Street Dance Festival in Tempe, Arizona.[35]

Awards and achievements

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Barnes has received two Bessie Awards, one in 2021 and the second in 2023. The Bessies were established in 1984 in New York City to honor original creative work and performance.[36] Barnes' first Bessie was for outstanding performance and "sustained achievement in dance."[37] In 2023, she received the Bessie Outstanding Creator/Choreographer Award for her show The Jazz Continuum.[38] She was also selected by The New York Times in 2021 as a "breakout star."[39][40] She has collaborated with Caleb Teicher on his show Swing Out, which has appeared across the U.S. including at the Lincoln Center in New York.[41]

In 2022, Barnes was featured on the cover of Dance Magazine.[5] Barnes is also vice president of marketing and outreach for the International Lindy Hop Championships, where she is one of the organizers.[42] Barnes currently teaches at Arizona State University in the department of film, dance, and theater.[43]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Thompson, Candice (16 November 2023). "LaTasha Barnes looks for the roots linking Black dance styles". Andscape. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  2. ^ Perry, Imani (3 September 2024). "Keeping the Spirit of Harlem Dance Alive". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  3. ^ Burke, Siobhan (12 October 2022). "LaTasha Barnes: Let The Circle of Influence Be Unbroken". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  4. ^ Gantz, Jeffrey. "LaTasha Barnes's "The Jazz Continuum" Can't Stop Moving". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wingenroth, Lauren (17 June 2022). "LaTasha Barnes: Reclaiming Black Vernacular Dances, One Performance at a Time". Dance Magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
  6. ^ a b Siebert, Brian. "From the Lindy Hop to Hip-Hop in One Improvising Body". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  7. ^ Panganiban, Rik. "Herrang 2016". Rikomatic. Retrieved 2024-11-08. ...the first solo jazz competition...My friend [La]Tasha ended up winning that one..."
  8. ^ a b c d Barnes, LaTasha. "Curriculum Vitae, pg. 7, bottom". Arizona State University. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  9. ^ "Past Competition Results 2016". Lindyfest.org. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  10. ^ a b "Lindyfest 2017 All-Star J & J, 2nd place" (PDF). lindyfest.org. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  11. ^ "Invitational Draw Full Contest, International Lindy Hop Championships". Youtube.com. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  12. ^ "LaTasha Barnes & Felix Berghall: La Jam Barcelona 2024". Youtube. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  13. ^ Sandall, Emma. "How Caleb Teicher Became King of Old School Cool". Dance Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-18. "[Teicher] is excited to collaborate with a brain trust of swing dancers on the project: Nathan Bugh, Evita Arce, LaTasha Barnes."
  14. ^ "The Bessies: New York Dance & Performance Awards". The Bessies. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  15. ^ "Counterpoint Comes to Purdue on Feb 8". Convos: Purdue Convocations. Purdue University. Retrieved 2024-11-18. "Caleb is the recipient of the New York City Center Choreographic Fellowship, two Bessie Awards..."
  16. ^ "Tour Dates Swing Out". Swingout Show. Joyce Theater, New York. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  17. ^ Mulgrew, Anne-Marie. (2023). Penn Live Arts, May 31. "Tap Wunderkind Caleb Teicher Brings Swing Out, A Lindy Hop Big Band Sensation. "Caleb Teicher & Company performs a mix of tap and vernacular jazz..." https://pennlivearts.org/blog/tap-wunderkind-caleb-teicher-brings-swng-out-a-lindy-hop-big-band-sensation. Accessed 03-13-24.
  18. ^ Kourlas, Gia. "Review: Lindy Hopping into the Present with Caleb Teicher and Co". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  19. ^ Murray, Olivia. "LaTasha Barnes 'The Jazz Continuum' at the Kennedy Center". Broadway World. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  20. ^ a b c Hoyer, Sharon. "A Powerful Marriage of All the Things: LaTasha Barnes' The Jazz Continuum Comes to Chicago". NewcityStage. NewcityStage. Retrieved 2024-11-22. The Jazz Continuum is best not thought of as a conventional show. These dances live in the clubs, the ballrooms, the basements, the backyard parties, and breath communal air."
  21. ^ Crosby, Jill Flanders; Moss, Michele (2014). "Jazz Dance from Emancipation to 1970" (1st ed.). Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-8130-4929-8.
  22. ^ Parker, Janine (14 August 2021). "Dance Review: LaTasha Barnes' 'The Jazz Continuum' is a generous, joyful elixir of an experience". Berkshire Eagle. Archived from the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  23. ^ Burke, Siobhan. "LaTasha Barnes: Let the Circle of Influence Be Unbroken". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
  24. ^ Burke, Siobhan. "Best Dance Performances of 2022". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  25. ^ "International Lindy Hop Championships". Swing Planit. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  26. ^ "New York Lindy Exchange: Teachers". New York Lindy Exchange. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  27. ^ "Virtual Events with Michele Byrd-McPhee and Guest Artists, University of Wisconsin". Arts Division, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  28. ^ a b Yan, Justine; Warner, Gregory. "May We Have This Dance?". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  29. ^ "Mother City Hop 2019". Mother City Hop. Retrieved 2024-11-04. "International Teachers: Sharon Davis, LaTasha Barnes..."
  30. ^ "LaTasha Barnes at Mother City Hop". facebook.com. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  31. ^ "Lincoln Center on the History of Lindy Hop 2018". Yehoodi. Retrieved 2024-11-09. "Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York is hosting a panel discussion on the history of lindy hop. The featured panelists are LaTasha Barnes, Mickey Davidson..."
  32. ^ Faller, Mary Beth. "As hip hop turns 50, ASU experts weigh in on art form's evolution". Arizona State University. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  33. ^ Bush, Sophie. "Upcoming Artist-in-Residence: LaTasha Barnes". Boston University. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  34. ^ Wren, Celia. "The Jazz Continuum explores Black social dance--from past to present". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-11-04. "...at New York University she designed and completed a master's degree in ethnochoreology, Black studies and performance studies."
  35. ^ a b c Munoz, Danielle. "Internationally recognized dancers joins ASU's School of Music, Dance and Theatre". Arizona State University. Retrieved 2024-11-05. "Her thesis and continuing research are working to bridge the gap between communities of practice and academic cultural dance research, performance, preservation and pedagogy."
  36. ^ "The Bessies-About". The Bessies – New York Dance & Performance Awards. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  37. ^ "2021 Awards-The Bessies". The Bessies: New York Dance & Performance Awards. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  38. ^ "Bessies 2023". The Bessies New York Dance & Performance Awards. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  39. ^ Gantz, Jeffrey. "LaTasha Barnes's "The Jazz Continuum" can't stop moving". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2023-06-16. "...that same year, she was named a "breakout star" by The New York Times."
  40. ^ Salam, Maya. "The Breakout Stars of 2021". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  41. ^ "Summer for the City: Swing Out". Lincoln Center. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  42. ^ "International Lindy Hop Championships: About". International Lindy Hop Championships. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  43. ^ Chaffee, Lacy. "ASU Faculty Member Wins 2021 Bessie Award". Arizona State University. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
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