Archive Find 2: McIntyre’s Choreodrama

During my visit to the New York Public Library of Performing Arts, I looked at programs from the Sounds in Motion company. One of the more interesting programs was from an adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.

CAPTION: “Program from May 1987 interpretation of Their Eyes Were Watching God with choreography by Dianne McIntyre: This program is important because it shows how dance and literature can be combined to create a unique experience for the audience. For this performance, McIntyre also collaborated with The Okra Orchestra. In this performance, McIntyre did not only honor Zora Neale Hurston’s literature but also Southern black culture through a celebration of the blues. This performance recognized an experience that was particular to black culture.”

What was interesting to me is that the program listed both dancers and musicians as part of the Sounds in Motion company without any delineation between the two art forms. From the layout of the program, it seems that both musicians and dancers had equal positions in the company and were equally valued. This is important because the existence of McIntyre’s company seems to combat the belief that dance is not as worthy or communicative as other art forms. The performance is also described as a choreodrama, which very much sounds like Shange’s terminology and may have been inspired by McIntyre’s connection with Shange herself.

The program states the former address of the Sounds in Motion company. In 1987, at the time of this performance, the company was located at 290 Lenox Avenue. It is also interesting to see the list of contributors who supported the company. Some interesting contributors were Citibank, Romare Bearden, and The Negro Ensemble Company.

Information about permission to use this object is available at this email address: permissions@nypl.org.