Bios

Samantha Speis

Samantha Speis, co-artistic director of the dance-theatre company Urban Bush Women, is a member of The Skeleton Architecture, a collective of black womyn and gender non-conforming artists who use improvisation to create, organize, advocate, gather, play, and challenge. 

Her work has been featured at the Kennedy Center, Long Island University, Joyce SoHo, Hollins University, Danspace Project, Dixon Place, Dance Place, and The Kelly Strayhorn Theater. 

She has developed a teaching practice that explores pelvic mobility as the root of powerful locomotion and as a point of connection to the stories, experiences, and lineages that reside in each of us. She has been a guest artist and taught at workshops throughout the United States, South America, Senegal, and Europe. 

Recent projects include Walking with ’Trane, co-choreographed with Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and Hair & Other Stories, a collaboration with Chanon Judson-Johnson and Raelle Myrick-Hodges.

Go to Urban Bush Women to learn more. 

Michael Mwenso

Michael Mwenso was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, but moved to London as a child. He spent his teen years hanging out at the legendary jazz club Ronnie Scott’s, where he was exposed to musicians such as Benny Carter, Elvin Jones, Ray Brown, and Billy Higgins.

He had already started honing his talents as a trombonist, singer, and performer, playing in jump bands, reggae and Afrobeat horn sections, and at hard-bop sessions. Mwenso’s talent as a performer caught the attention of many, which lead him to meet James Brown. The funk legend became a mentor and allotted space for him to sing and dance at his London shows.

In 2012, friend and jazz musician Wynton Marsalis brought Mwenso to New York City to serve as curator and programming associate at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where he also booked nightly sets at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. Over the next few years, Mwenso booked and performed with the likes of Cécile McLorin Salvant, Jon Batiste, Aaron Diehl, Sullivan Fortner, and Jamison Ross.

Through the performances, at Dizzy’s, Mwenso began to collaborate with a variety of Juilliard-trained musicians, a collective that soon became known as The Shakes. This unique group of global artists present music that merges entertainment and artistry with a formidable timeline of jazz and blues through African and Afro-American music. The group has toured extensively through the United States and has received high praise from the debut release Emergence.

Visit Mwenso and the Shakes to learn more.