Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies

I renegade when I'm in a rage
I got to cool down
But I'm under pressure

— Janelle Monáe, Turntables

Created by Latanya d. Tigner and Lashon Daley in collaboration with the company members, TURNTABLES centers the story of the Cal Bearettes and their struggle to find space and respect on UC Berkeley's campus. Despite being the first majorette-style dance team in the University of California system, these women of color are often relegated to practice in parking garages, are mocked during games, and are denied athletic funding. The Bearettes symbolize the trials that Black women and women of color have faced as they seek to find resources, provisions, and a safe place to call their own.

Traversing experiences of the 1960s sit-ins, TURNTABLES brings their current struggle into conversation with the Civil Rights Movement. In the 1960s, protestors staged sit-ins in order to stand up against being treated as second-class citizens. In 2021, the Cal Bearettes "stand" for the same reason.

In the HBCU majorette style, a "stand" is a sequence of eight dance counts. It generally occurs when two dance teams face each other and alternate their stands until the judges declare a winner. It is likened to a street fight or war, except that the opposing teams battle using their dancing rather than violence. Not only do they "stand," they also "sit," which is performed elegantly and slowly by the dancers. The "sit" is done with confidence in order to take up space. It is the "We're here!" moment. For the Bearettes, it is an opportunity to claim the space that they have the right to be in just like the 1960s sit-ins. It is a demonstration of their regalness as Black women and women of color.

Through popular dance, poetics, and competition, TURNTABLES explores themes of rage, joy, silence, opposition, and allyship.