Jefferson Pinder

Black Labor mops the floor
2 men and 1 woman
The floor is wet
Long sweeping strokes
Flow of mop tendrils
Connect and disconnect on the grey floor

Electric guitar
Percussion in back left corner

I sit against the wall
Light shines on me as I type

2 people move the table

“In 2001 Spike Lee”
The magical negro “has no past”
“He has supernatural powers by the white viewers”
“You can interact with the magical negro here in real life”

White woman with brown hair, a short black dress, major heels and red lipstick brings out his clothes. He gets dressed in a suit.

“The magical NEGRO”
“Here is a Negro, Here is a magical Negro”

“Watch him breathe”
“Watch him draw the bow”
He shoots the arrow

Watch him- shoot the arrow into the big white and black column
The audience moves away and flinches as the sharp arrow sticks into column

Fabulous straightjacket
Quilted found fabric and leather
Fencing mask on

He bounces on the trampoline
The straightjacket flops and flaps
In reminds me as he turns side to side of the West African mask dancer costumes in Burkina Faso
He wears his shoes as he bounces on the trampoline
Higher and higher
Never quite able to reach the magical cowery shell bell

Now he struggles to get out of his straight jacket
In a short time he sheds the constraint

Unwraps the paper-
Red
Blue
Multi colored
Green stripes
His hands project action as he peels away the layers

“There will be no magic tonight” – Jefferson Pinder

A bell chimes

The audience shifts around the floor- changing places scooting around the clean white floor

The mops are back
Cleaning the space
Pushing people back
The tendrils touch my boots
She really pushes people out of the way to clean the floor- creating the shifting choreography of audience

The drums and music start up again
Moving furniture
Mop/body unison
A sweet moment of togetherness

Photo by Mayra Rodriguez Castro

Esther Baker-Tarpaga is co-artistic director of Baker & Tarpaga Dance Project www.btdanceproject.com, which has performed at I Trotra Festival Madagascar, Jacobs Pillow Inside Out Festival, Kelly Strayhorn, REDCAT LA, Action Danse Morocco, Abok I NGoma Cameroon, and Dialogue De Corps Burkina Faso. She curates vlog www.shiftafrica.wordpress.com, featuring performance and interviews with African choreographers. She toured with David Rousseve/REALITY and has performed with Guillermo Gomez-Pena La Pocha Nostra and Hind Benali, Morocco.  She has taught at OSU, UCLA, Atelier Aex Corps Senegal, and Cypress Community College. She is the recipient of a NY Live Arts Suitcase Fund, BETHA Grant, and was a State Dept. Cultural Envoy in Guinea, Botswana, and South Africa. She co-directs an annual dance/music workshop in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.