Step Afrika!
WISH LIST: $300: artists for 2 classroom demonstrations; $750: intensive interactive workshop for up to 50 students; $1500: Step Up to College artist residence for at-risk youth
When C Brian Williams, a young graduate of Howard University, traveled to Southern Africa in 1991, he came across the gumboot dance; created by South African mineworkers, it bore a strong resemblance to the stepping he had learned in his college fraternity. He later met members of the Soweto Dance Theatre, and the Step Afrika International Cultural Festival was born – the first known attempt to link the two forms of dance. Today Step Afrika! is the only national company exploring this cultural connection, in performances both national and international. Here at home there is a double focus: on performance and arts-in-education. From single shows to multi-week school residencies, programs combine stepping with lessons in teamwork, discipline, commitment, and academic achievement, winning Step Afrika! the Mayor’s Arts Award for Outstanding Contribution to the field. And there’s something simply powerful about the work: it’s “not just physically or rhythmically impressive,” says the Washington Post. It “feels essential ... quiet, white hot fire.” Isn’t this something we want to nourish and preserve?
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