Mix international award-winning dancers like Massive Monkees and A Justice Network with Seattle Weekly’s world music top contenders, Big World Breaks, add a story teller like Mary Anne Moorman known as Auntmama, the beautiful voice of Kathya Alexander, bring on a thousand year old griot and what do you have? Comedy, drama, pageantry and all the magic of “Ozya: An Urban Odyssey”.

“Ozya” tells the story of high school student Fred Ordona as he navigates between the dreams of his immigrant family and the streets of Southeast Seattle. He has much to overcome from his parent’s dreams to his school rival. Now meet Sting who has his own challenges to overcome and a gang to survive. The battle takes to the stage in this workshop production of Southeast Seattle life around 1975.Enemies become allies when gangs threaten and Sting’s mom is willing to lay down her life to keep her son safe.

Amber Flame, Brysen Angeles, Twixx, Korvus Blackbird, and A Justice Network aka The Diversity Dance Group take center stage in song, dance and spoken word.

Seattle’s brilliant puppet designer Jean Enticknap of Thistle Puppet Theatre and her dedicated team members Maggie Hillding, Bride Schroeder-LaPlatney and Rowbes Rowberg created a larger than life West African griot named Ozya. Ozya knows the past and future of the Emerald City and steers the families across the great divides between immigration, migration and gentrification.

Youth in the Ozya Leadership Laboratory gathered stories from immigrants and citizens in surrounding South Seattle neighborhoods and communities to help create the script. The play told in dance, spoken word and music is based on these true-life stories retold by folk historian,Allen Schwartz. Rainier Valley Cultural Center hosts “Ozya: An Urban Odyssey” on October 25th, 2008 at 7:30 PM. Ozya Leadership Lab youth will lead a community discussion immediately following the show. All generations are invited to the Urban Odyssey Workshop at R.V.C.C. on October 26th, 2008 from 2-6pm as 206 Zulu, Massive Monkees, Big World Breaks and special guests teach the elements of hip hop in a culture of justice. R.V.C.C. is located at 3515 S. Alaska St. on the corner of Rainier Ave. & Alaska St.