Ogemdi Ude is a Nigerian-American dance artist, educator, and doula based in Harlem. She creates performances that investigate how black folks’ cultural, familial, and personal histories are embedded in their bodies and influence their everyday and performative movement. Her work has been presented at Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Danspace, Gibney, Center for Performance Research, Movement Research at Judson, Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, and for BAM’s DanceAfrica festival. She currently serves as Head of Movement for Drama at Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan and is adjunct faculty in the Dance MFA at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. www.ogemdiude.com

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
AfroPeach

AfroPeach is a series of free dance workshops for Black postpartum people in Manhattan and Brooklyn created by Ogemdi Ude and Rochelle Jamila Wilbun. The workshops will focus on healing from the physical effects of pregnancy and birth, creatively processing birth stories, and building somatic relationships between new parents/caretakers and their babies. Each workshop will be composed of a two-hour movement class, a one-hour discussion with a veteran birth worker/healer/artist to further illuminate the workshop’s focus, and end with a nourishing meal. AfroPeach workshops will be simultaneously educational, social, and supportive.

Photo Credit: Chidozie Ekwensi