“SCAT!” will perform at the Mark Taper Forum Nov. 22-24. (photo by Maria Baranova for the Fisher Center at Bard)

The Music Center will make history when it kicks off its 2024-25 dance season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center on Nov. 22-24, with a first-ever dance presentation in the performing arts center’s beloved Mark Taper Forum. The storied Brooklyn-based dance company Urban Bush Women has the honor of becoming the first-ever professional dance theatre company in The Music Center’s momentous 60 years to perform at the 739-seat theatre. Adding to the excitement, UBW will be making its Music Center debut with the West Coast premiere of “SCAT!… The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar,” a love story set in a fictional jazz club where two people make their journey to Kansas City as part of the Great Migration. “SCAT!” is presented in association with Center Theatre Group.

“What an incredible time Angelenos are having at The Music Center as we celebrate our 60th year and open the doors of the landmark Mark Taper Forum for Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center for the first time,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center.

‘SCAT!’ is conceived, directed and co-choreographed by UBW founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar – as her final work for the company. Growing up in the mid-20th century performing in Black neighborhoods in a segregated Kansas City, Zollar tells a powerful tale of the aftermath of the Great Migration in the 1940s and 50s when aspirations are impacted by the harsh realities of American life. According to UBW, ‘SCAT!’ is a poetic performance orature in the style of African American Toasts (the couplet form of rhyming, which boast and toast the epic hero or heroine) and was influenced by novelist Chinua Achebe who combined the concept of the orality of African storytelling with literature. The electrifying 90-minute dance work is set to an original jazz score by Craig Harris and performed by live musicians.

Tickets to Urban Bush Women are available for purchase now by visiting musiccenter.org/ubw or by calling (213)972-0711. The Mark Taper Forum is located at 135 N. Grand Ave.