Sarah Bush Dance Project: Rocked By Women

On a recent trip to the San Francisco Bay Area, I was fortunate to catch a dress rehearsal of the Sarah Bush Project Rocked by Women show. This multi-media dance performance is a tribute to the pioneers of women's music, the music that Sarah Bush was raised on. Although her mom was straight, Sarah says she remembers dancing around the house to Meg Christian's Leaping Lesbians as a child. Listening to Holly Near and Cris Williamson paved the way for her to come out as a lesbian at age 16. And all of them led her down her life's path of being a working artist, a dancer and choreographer.

After the dance, I sat and talked with Sarah about the inspiration behind Rocked by Women. She says the combination of music and movement has the capacity to stir things in people. I agree. I was moved by music, her physical interpretation of it and the story it wove throughout her life. I was also moved by the passion and respect Sarah showed the musicians who played the soundtrack of her formative years. Listen in on my conversation with Sarah Bush and the Rocked by Women project.

Rocked by Women will play June 16, 2011 at 8pm in the African American Art and Culture Complex, San Francisco.

_{© Cheryl Mazak}