Snapshot: 2023

ZAZ: The Big Easy by M.F.A. in Dance candidate Ryan K. Johnson premiered in April at the Cohen New Works Festival. A kinetic and sonic synthesis of African diasporic percussive dance and music, the work explored the realities of Hurricane Katrina as a physical storm and metaphor of storms humans experience when silenced, marginalized and oppressed. Johnson’s work used tap dance, stepping, body percussion, original music, audience participation, vocal arrangements and digital media to create an immersive sensory performance. ZAZ was chosen to represent the South-Central Region in the Gala Concert at the 2023 American College Dance Association’s national conference at California State University, Long Beach in May.