Photo by Anne Taussig
Early in 2016, Joan Lipkin, founder of That Uppity Theatre Company, read a scary stat: Not even one-third of eligible citizens had voted in that year’s primaries and caucuses, and 93 million hadn’t voted in the 2012 presidential election.
“The lethargy around this precious right is maddening,” she fumed.
So she gathered some colleagues and friends, and they started Dance the Vote, determined to bypass the usual bumper sticker rhetoric and let art inspire participation.
This year, the choreography will tell the history of voting rights for different populations.
“Dance has a way of getting people to think without them even realizing it,” says Ashleyliane Dance Company founder Ashley Tate, who is co-producing and curating the dance performances. Other dance groups participating:
- Karlovsky and Company Dance
- Grand Center Arts Academy
- KYPE (Kuumba Youth Performance Ensemble)
- SkyStone Contemporary Ballet
- Imagine Dance Project
- WUDance Collective
- MADCO 2
- Beyond Measure Dance Theater
- Las Rumberas
Mayor Krewson is issuing a proclamation, and the Board of Aldermen a resolution, declaring October 6 Voter Registration Day in St. Louis. The citations will be presented at 12:30 p.m. on the steps of the museum.
At 1 p.m., a community dance piece to Michael Jackson will be performed (and taught to anybody game to learn). The main dance program follows.
Free ice cream's an extra lure, and at an all-ages selfie station, people can take photos with signage that signifies their commitment to voting (and leave with a packet that helps them figure out where their polling place is and whom to call if they have issues at the polls).
Spoken-word pieces will address the challenge of holding a unified vision for the country—and recapturing common ideals. “Animating our democracy” is how creative strategist Roseann Weiss puts it, because voting brings a dry civics lesson to life. She will read, as will Lipkin, Pam Garvey, John Blair, and Susan Spitfire-Lively. Other participants include M.K. Stallings, Kim Furlow, Sahara “Sista Sols” Scott, Ana Jennings, and Better Family Life.
Sabrina Tyuse, founder of the St. Louis Voter Registration Group, will be on hand to register voters on the spot (Missouri’s deadline is October 10) and field their questions: “If I’m here in college can I vote here?” Yes, but think it through. “If I’m homeless, can I vote?” Yes, either St. Patrick’s Center or Biddle House will let you use their address. “If I’m a convicted felon, can I vote?” Only if you’re “off paper,” released from probation or parole. “How do I know if I’m still registered to vote?” Call the Board of Elections; they can tell you in 15 seconds.
“One woman said the last time she voted was for McGovern!” Tyuse says. “I had to look it up. That was in ’72.” Personally, Tyuse can’t even imagine not voting. She grew up in Mississippi before desegregation, and she remembers, at 12, watching election results late into the night after her parents had gone to sleep.
“People have died for the right to vote,” she says. “Women have gone to prison and been beaten.” All that anybody has to do in St. Louis in October is watch some amazing dance, hear a little poetry, and fill out a form.
Dance the Vote will be held at the Missouri History Museum, starting at 1 p.m. October 6.
This post has been updated to reflect the growing list of participants and the official declaration of October 6 as St. Louis Registration Day.
