In his world premiere work, The More Things Change, choreographer Uri Sands explores the incremental, underlying flux of civil rights progress, reflecting on contemporary themes and inspired by contralto Marian Anderson’s 1939 open-air concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. After having been refused permission to perform at Constitution Hall, Anderson’s iconic Easter concert, performed for 75,000 and broadcast to millions via radio, broke barriers for African-American artists decades before the civil rights movement.  Click here for a PBS NewsHour segment on Marian Anderson.

TU Dance will premiere the new work at The Cowles Center in Minneapolis, April 17-19, 2015, as part of the TU Dance spring dance concert. Click here for tickets & box office information

Marian Anderson in 1940; Anderson’s 1939 Performance at the Lincoln Memorial