Movement for the Urban Village (MUV) is a Brooklyn, New York based Contemporary Dance company founded in 2004 by Shalewa Mackall. Since 2005 MUV has presented six consecutive seasons of original dance in New York City and performed for audiences at festivals, parks, schools and nightclubs. Central to the Urban Village concept is the understanding that the techniques, traditions and rhythms of social and spiritual dances from all corners and all eras of the African Diaspora-- from the savannas of the Ancient Mali Empire and the bembes of Santiago, Cuba to the contemporary sidewalks of Bed-Stuy and the dance clubs of the Lower East Side-- infused with the immediacy of contemporary performance become Ancient Modern Dance.
Towards this greater end MUV is a community of women dancers of varied identity and life experience who join together to present original dance works addressing social, political and spiritual themes. At the heart of this concept is the intention that the work function as an instrument of creative expression, a modality for healing and means for liberation on every level for all people.
"The connection and intimacy between performers clearly extended off the stage and into the crowd...
-Attitude: the Dancers' Magazine
