Antoine Hunter, award-winning choreographer, dancer and advocate, to perform and speak in Madison on Oct. 7
Posted: 09/24/24
Acclaimed dancer, actor, choreographer, instructor and Deaf advocate Antoine Hunter, also known as PurpleFireCrow, will present at a free event open to the public on Oct. 7 in Shannon Hall in Memorial Union at 6:30 p.m.
Hosted by the Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Distinguished Lecture Series (DLS) Committee and the McBurney Disability Resource Center, “An Evening with Antoine Hunter” will feature a performance and lecture by Hunter, followed by an audience Q&A. The event is free, but tickets are required.
Tickets are available now, with a limit of four tickets per person. Hunter will present in American Sign Language (ASL), and the lecture will have both spoken English interpretation and live professional captioning available.
Hunter’s personal experience as a Black, Indigenous, Deaf and Disabled dancer and choreographer inspired Hunter to found the Urban Jazz Dance Company, a San Francisco-based company that creates opportunities for Deaf and Disabled artists from marginalized backgrounds. Hunter also established the Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival and “#DeafWoke,” Hunter's live-streamed talk show that amplifies Deaf voices, raising awareness about Deaf culture and intersectionality through conversations with diverse guests.
“Dance gave me the ability to express myself,” Hunter said in a 2018 TEDxUCDavisSF talk. “I realized that dance and body movement has the ability to tell a story. I can tell a story.”
This event is made possible, in part, with support from the Anonymous Fund Grant, Division of the Arts, Associate Vice Chancellor Fernie Rodriguez, Disability Cultural Center, UW–Madison Language Sciences Event Committee and Dance Department.
The student-led WUD DLS Committee brings engaging and influential people to the UW–Madison campus to encourage thought-provoking conversations. WUD includes 11 committees and six Wisconsin Hoofers clubs that program thousands of events each year.
In addition to the evening lecture and performance, community members may attend a free livestreamed panel featuring Hunter and other Deaf professionals, titled "Deaf Fire: Finding Your Path in a Hearing World," at 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 7. Panelists will be presenting in ASL, and live professional captioning and spoken English interpretation will be available.
On Sunday, Oct. 7, the McBurney Center will host a press conference to invite local student and professional media contacts to attend a roundtable discussion and press conference with Hunter and Hunter’s team from 5-7 p.m. at 702 West Johnson Street, Suite 1101, Madison, Wisconsin. ASL interpreters will be provided.