Uplifting Black Legacy

Join us for an evening of performance and discussion celebrating the lineage of Black storytelling and labor.

Los Angeles-based choreographer Marjani Forté-Saunders performs a rare work-in-progress rendition of Chicken Soup, a solo choreographed by Blondell Cummings in 1981 and designated an "American Masterpiece" by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2006. The performance will be followed by a conversation with Forté-Saunders and other panelists on what it means to inherit the blueprint of a work and more widely what it means to build upon the deep legacies of Black radical experimentation.

The evening is offered as part of the Annenberg Community Beach House cultural series. All are encouraged to stop by beforehand to explore the "Refractions: Contemporary Indigenous Art" exhibition in the Event House Gallery. "Refractions..." is curated by Joel Garcia and Kenneth Lopez of meztli projects, an Indigenous-based arts and culture collaborative. 

About Chicken Soup and Marjani Forté-Saunders
Chicken Soup focuses sharply on the forgotten domestic labor in the soul of the household, the kitchen -- weaving together movement with text to present a unique visual offering. Through this performance, Forté-Saunders pays tribute to Blondell Cummings’ lasting legacy. Commissioned by Danspace Project, the remounting of Chicken Soup is part of highlighting their 50-year legacy of performance art in NYC and nationally. The 2024 iteration follows archival investigation by the Getty Research Institute and Art & Practice and seeks to shed light on Cummings' pivotal choreographic and video work. 

Marjani Forté-Saunders is a three-time Bessie award-winning choreographer, performer, teaching artist, founder of 7NMS | Arts x Power, and a Mother.