Ogemdi Ude

With MAJOR, US choreographer Ogemdi Ude explores the dance of her childhood: Majorette is closely associated with the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in the US South and is performed at football games alongside large marching bands. The dance style, developed by Black women and femmes combines the precision of a kickline with the tongue-in-cheek sensualityof burlesque, and is characterized by synchronized, explosive movement sequences in large formations. It inspired Beyoncé’s 2018 Coachella performance “Homecoming” and now serves Ude as the basis for her Summer Festival world premiere MAJOR. Six performers explore the movements of their youth in order to reclaim a form that has so far received little attention in contemporary dance. With powerful movements, flowing hip swings, and precise counts, they demonstrate how majorette — like vogueing and other subcultural practices — can integrate with contemporary dance to become, like MAJOR, a polyphonic, tenderly fierce homage to Black femininity.