The Cotton Series is a multimedia project that explores the experiences of Black women within the USA. The goal is to explore how Black women have had to exist in this country in the past and present while trying to envision a brighter future. It functions as an investigation of Black womanhood and our unspoken sisterhood as it interacts with the many facets of living in America historically and presently. It is a collection of dance works that explore Black women’s relationship with food, Black men, family, community, love and our overall contributions in America.
Current Components of “The Cotton Series”
6________Bodies
“6________ Bodies” explores the concept of sisterhood and what role it plays in the mental, spiritual and physical survival of Black women in America. What does our sisterhood look like in physical form and how do people who aren’t Black women see our sisterhood.
Birth a Workforce
“Birth of a Work-Force” seeks to uncover the many ways that Black women have had to perform labor in America. From having the responsibility of giving birth to America's primary free labor workforce for over 200 years to being the forgotten leaders of many labor rights movements in the USA.
It We Ain’t Laughing With You
"If we not laughing with you" is a piece that aims to explore Black Women and laughter and how the things we do to enjoy ourselves get reinterpreted and commodified in ways that don't represent the reality of who we are or deleting the visibility of Black women.
Black is the color of Praise
"Black is the color of Praise" is the 4th dance installment to the "Cotton Series." It is a choreographic meditation on the sacred relationship between Black women and prayer—a relationship that has served as both anchor and lifeline across generations. Through intricate movement vocabulary and embodied storytelling, this work excavates the multifaceted ways prayer functions as a source of strength, resistance, and restoration in Black women's lives.
Photos By: Maria J Hackett
