~ The Color Book made its debut in the Senior Concert, March 6th – 8th, 2019 in the Barnett Theatre at the Ohio State University. It is a two-part dance narrative about colorism from the African American female perspective. The first section that I performed in is entitled Foreword. It is a three-minute solo performed to a live spoken word artist. The second section, entitled Chapter One, is a six-minute work performed by the ensemble. The Color Book identifies the stereotypes associated with skin color on the black spectrum to celebrate black female life through dance. Upon its completion, The Color Book attempted to reconstruct the image of Black women in dance by understanding their existence and reclaiming their identity.
Foreword
I had recently been involved in a production entitled Inside the Riot. This production goes behind the scenes of an equal rights protest in the African American community. From this production, there was a choreo-poem entitled Rules that became the track for Foreword. This poem serves as a list of commands that one would say to themselves to survive in American society as a Black person. I hired a spoken word artist to make Foreword more impactful. Following is the choreo-poem used during Prelude:
“There is no such thing as a single issue struggle, because we do not live single issue lives.” – Audre Lorde
To the protester who lives inside of her own protest,
Be strong, Be chameleon
Be leopard
Be changing your spots with every change of spot or space
Be ever-ducking
And running and running and running
Be hiding
In picket lines and closet walls
Be-side eye glances
When people find you in mirrors or lose you under their sheets
Be-stealth
Be bending and moving and folding into boxes
Be an ocean of rallies that no one shows up for
Be-intersectional
Be mixed
Be gay and black
But never more gay than you are black
Be forever learning that you are both chicken and egg
Don’t matter which comes first
Both be dead on the same road
Be the others, other
Be revolution, untelevised
Be body, and twisted, and never on the news
Be nice “for a black girl”
Be “cute for a gay one”
Be more oil than lipstick
Be slick, Be clever
Be mastering how to change your skin
Be sliding into sit-ins but don’t be sittin in with their wives
Be- stonewall or Ferguson
Can’t tell no more
Be a burning in Paris, Or a death-drop In Detroit
Be standing in solidarity with so many blacks
Even when so many blacks stand in solidarity against you
Be strong
Be stiff, Be iron and fist
Be knuckles and finger snaps
Be chicken or egg
Can’t tell no more
Be hard boiled, Be feather rustled
Be living while black but never black while gay
Be wide mouthed and silent
Be angry, Be reckless
Be a protest inside of a protest
Be fist full of glitter in a firebombed church
Be bruised knuckles and a warm hug
Be life
Be living if they let you
Be careful if you willing
Be ever-changing
Ever-ducking
Be. Chameleon.
Brianna Rhodes 