On Friday, November 14, the Midwest Trust Center welcomes Collage Dance Collective for a dynamic evening of contemporary dance featuring RISE and Their Eyes Were Watching God.
For those unfamiliar, Zora Neale Hurston’s novel is a pioneering act of cultural reclamation, one of the first Black woman’s acts of refusal to be silenced, confined, or defined by anyone else’s expectations in literature. Published in 1937, Hurston centered Black Southern dialect, Black joy, and Black women’s autonomy at a time when such self-determination was even lethal. It was revolutionary then and it remains revolutionary now.
Rooted in the heartland of Memphis, Tennessee, Collage Dance Collective, an award winning, Black-led powerhouse embodies the greatness of American dance and is at the national forefront of inspiring the growth and diversity of ballet. Collage’s meteoric rise over the last decade is fueled by its dynamic programming, virtuosic company artists, and its talent for presenting what the Albany Times Union called “ballet made utterly, gorgeously human.”
RISE Reimagines the Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Through Dance
What started with a visit to the National Civil Rights Museum, co-founder and Artistic Director Kevin Thomas was inspired to create a contemporary dance about the Civil Rights movement and how that history is relevant today. The piece features Collage Dance Collective’s company performing alongside the audio recording of Dr. King’s speech, “The Mountaintop,” conveying the messages of hope, light, and possibility for the future.
Their Eyes Were Watching God Inspired by Zora Neale Hurston Novel
The neoclassical ballet, co-choreographed by Thomas and Amy Hall Garner, was inspired by the Zora Neale Hurston novel of the same name, once heralded as “one of the 100 best novels” by TIME magazine. The story centers on Janie Crawford and her search for love and independence as a Black woman in the South during the early 20th century.
Collage Dance Collective performs Friday, November 14 at Yardley Hall in the Midwest Trust Center.
Public show at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $25. Get tickets at jccc.edu/MTC or call (913) 469-4445.
Additional Performances in the 2025-2026 Season Include:
Cirque Mechanics – Tilt! (Nov. 7)
Opus 76 Quartet with Alexander Markov, violin (Nov. 8)
Christmas in Killarney (Dec. 6)
Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol (Dec. 11)
Jungle Book (Jan. 17-18)
The Barricade Boys Broadway Party (Jan. 30)
The Acting Company – Great Expectations and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Feb. 14-15)
The Westerlies (Feb. 20)
Ranky Tanky (Feb. 22)
Tango After Dark (Feb. 26)
Winterlude Jazz Festival Featuring Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (Mar. 7-8)
