Peg Leg Bates: The Performance Years
February 9 to March 9, 2023
Location: 696 Dutchess Tnpk, St F, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
Hours: Tuesday - Thursday, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (or by appointment)
After losing his leg in a work accident at the age of 12, Peg Leg Bates embarked on a dancing career that would last into his twilight years. Whether he was on the vaudeville stage in Lew Leslie's Blackbird reviews, on television with Ed Sullivan, on stage for a benefit or dancing on the porch with a fellow amputee, Peg Leg Bates was the consummate performer. The AMH Gallery and Folk Arts Programs present Peg Leg Bates: The Performance Years.
Using posters, photos, and text, the exhibit will explore his performing life through the experience of being a Black performer in Vaudeville in the United States and beyond during the Jim Crow into the Civil Rights and post-Civil rights eras. What did it mean to perform with Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds Reviews? What happened when he performed in blackface in Washington D.C?
The exhibit will also feature video clips from the Peg Leg Bates webpage created through funding from Humanities New York.
Special Event: *** RESCHEDULED *** Due to the inclement weather, we are postponing Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at 7 p.m. discussion until Sunday, March 5 from 1 pm to 3 pm at Arts Mid-Hudson, 696 Dutchess Turnpike Suite F.
On Sunday, March 5, 2023 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. join us for a discussion on Black entrepreneurship pre and post-Civil Rights Movement. The evening will open with a dance performance by Nick Jackson in honor of Black History Month. Poughkeepsie Native Nick Jackson has been a self-taught Hip Hop and animation dancer for 20 years. His style of dance is a combination of Pop-locking, Gliding, and Body Waving with African-inspired Movements/Rhythms. He taught hip-hop at Queen City Dance from 2019-2022. Today, he is still teaching through his own dance school, Rhythm of Water, is part of a Black Fire Dance Troupe Called PSI Fire Flow, and runs an Urban Garden on Pershing Ave through his work with the City of Poughkeepsie and Scenic Hudson.
This event is free but space is limited - registration is required.
About Nick Jackson: Poughkeepsie native Nick Jackson has been a self taught Hip Hop and animation Dancer for 20 years. His style of dance is a combination of Pop-locking, Gliding, and Body Waving with African inspired Movements/Rhythms. He has taught hip-hop at Queen City Dance from 2019-2022. Today he is still teaching through his own dance school, Rhythm of Water, is part of a Black Fire Dance Troupe Called PSI Fire Flow and runs an Urban Garden on Pershing Ave through his work with the City of Poughkeepsie and Scenic Hudson.