DanceAfrica is a heritage and community celebration equable on the manifold dance forms of the African Diaspora held annually in New York City, Washington, DC, and Chicago. The festival includes performance, films, master classes, educational programming, and a bazaar. DanceAfrica, DC is a jubilant annual celebration of the cultural vitality of Africa and its diaspora in the nation's capital.
Inspired by the Brooklyn Academy of Music's festival and under the guidance of Dr. Baba Chuck Davis, Dance Place spearheaded its own unique format and traditions for this vital and vibrant celebration in 1987. The celebration DanceAfrica, created by Chuck Davis, built on the momentum of those 1960s and 70s movements through its showcase of African and African-American traditions and art forms.
Today, Director of Dance Place's African Dance Program Sylvia Soumah serves as Artistic Director and Griot since the passing of our much beloved Baba Chuck Davis in 2017. Its current artistic director is Abdel R.
DanceAfrica is BAM’s longest running performance series-and has become a Memorial Day weekend tradition in Brooklyn. Weddings, christenings, and other ceremonies have taken place during DanceAfrica-transcending performance and becoming ritual-a community’s celebration of African identity. In the 1980s Chuck Davis added master classes in African movement and music. DanceAfrica 1993 opened with a motorcade procession from Harlem to the steps of BAM. Fifty-two members of the Imperial Bikers Motorcycle Club, each carrying the flag of an African country, were joined by the Council of Elders, artists, and dignitaries for a libation pouring ceremony that included a gigantic carrot cake baked in the shape of Africa.
DanceAfrica has showcased troupes based both in Africa and the African Diaspora including many from New York. Companies have ranged in style from indigenous African to urban American hip-hop. DanceAfrica has shown that “traditional” African dance is not fixed in time and remains tremendously inclusive and diverse, and that even the most cutting-edge choreography can contain African influences.
Read also: DanceAfrica: A Cultural Experience
In 2007, DanceAfrica celebrates its 30th festival with 30 Years of DanceAfrica: Remember! Honor! Respect! 2007 30 Years of DanceAfrica: Remember! Honor! Respect! M.F.O.A. Odadaa!
Dance Place received a 2020 Oral History Project Extension Grant from the Oral History Collaborative and HumanitiesDC to continue the work of preserving the oral histories of DanceAfrica, DC. The grant allowed Dance Place to capture the histories from a wider community, highlighting how DanceAfrica, DC fits into the larger scope of Dance Place’s 40-year history as a dance presenter, school and community arts center in Ward 5’s Brookland/Edgewood neighborhood.
Listen as Mama Marcia Howard, original company member of Coyaba Dance Theater and coordinator of the Coyaba Youth Academy, reflects on her life and passion for dance. Listen as Donna Kearney, long-time member of the Dance Place community, reflects on her life and love of dance. HumanitiesDC’s Oral History Project Extension Grant is in partnership with the DC Oral History Collaborative and supported by the DC Public Library. Listen as Founding Director Emerita of Dance Place Carla Perlo reflects on her life and leadership of Dance Place, the organizing host of DanceAfrica, DC.
The Influence of African American Dance Schools
During the 1930’s, U Street’s “Black Broadway” brought about the influence of modern dance, which ignited the rise of African American dance schools. One such school, Northeast Academy of Dance (2011 Benning Road NE), emerged in 1934 under founder Bernice Hammond. Ms. Mastering her studies, she formed a performance ensemble called the Africano Americano, that primarily performed on the campus of Howard University (Ms. Hammonds alma mater). The Africano Americano was the first of its kind, having a repertoire ranging from classical ballet to African dance. Her school, (NAD) North East Academy of Dance became an H Street corridor landmark.
The political movements in the 1960s and the growth of dance in the 1970s led to the development of a number of African American dance companies. In the 1940s and 1950s, an African American cultural awareness emerged, seen in performances by Pearl Primus and Katherine Dunham at BAM, the dance focus was shifted from entertainment toward modern dance while integrating African elements. In the 1960s, Alvin Ailey, Talley Beatty, and Donald McKayle appeared at BAM. These artists were based at the Harlem Cultural Center with the New Dance Group when Chuck Davis arrived in the early 1960s. Davis moved to New York City to perform with musician Babatunde Olatunji; he also studied Dunham technique and jazz with Syvilla Fort.
Read also: History of Line Dancing
In February 1977, the Chuck Davis Dance Company performed in a constructed African village in the BAM Lepercq Space. Based on the success of the engagement, DanceAfrica debuted the following spring beginning with a day-long African bazaar. Arthur Hall, Charles Moore, Chuck Davis, Dinizulu, and the International Afrikan American Ballet participated in the festival, which offered five performances in the BAM Playhouse and culminated with all five companies-approximately 70 performers-on the Opera House stage.
A festival was born, growing into the country's largest annual celebration of African and African American dance and, adding dates in other cities such as Chicago; Washington, DC; Los Angeles; Miami; Minneapolis; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; and many others. Dallas recently made the festival an annual event.
Step Afrika! and its Contributions
Founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams, Step Afrika! is the world’s leading authority on the art form of stepping. Under Mr. Step Afrika! blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities; traditional African dances; and an array of contemporary dance and art forms into a cohesive, compelling artistic experience. Performances are much more than dance shows; they integrate songs, storytelling, humor and audience participation.
Step Afrika! promotes stepping as an educational tool for young people, focusing on teamwork, academic achievement, and cross-cultural understanding. Step Afrika! has earned Mayor’s Arts Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education, Innovation in the Arts, Excellence in an Artistic Discipline, and was inducted into the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) Hall of Fame, the first Dance Company to earn this honor. Step Afrika! headlined President Barack Obama’s Black History Month Reception and performed at the first-ever Juneteenth Celebration at the White House.
Step Afrika! Kicking off Black History Month 2024, Step Afrika! has partnered with Bloomberg Philanthropies to debut Step Afrika!’s Interactive 30th Anniversary Timeline, commemorating the organization’s 30-year history.
Read also: Remembering Chad Johnson
As one of the world’s most celebrated African American dance companies, Step Afrika! deepens connections within the communities we serve and furthers our mission to preserve and promote the tradition of stepping. Featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Explore More!
Across nearly three decades, Step Afrika! has connected generations through the tradition of stepping, and you have been with us every step of the way. As we embark on our next chapter, I look forward to working with you to make a lasting impact.” - C. Williams.
Step Afrika has become a cultural ambassador worldwide, entertaining and educating audiences in more than 60 countries to date. The group is known for its mastery of percussive dance, or stepping, which uses the body as an instrument to generate rhythmic sounds.
“Some of my best memories of Step Afrika are when we were traveling around the world, be it in Africa, Central South America, or the Middle East, using the arts to bring different people together,” Williams said. Education is a core part of the dance company’s mission. “We do lots of programs in schools,” Williams said. The organization also hosts a one-week camp in D.C. called “Summer Steps With Step Afrika.” It is open to students in grades 4 through 12.
Step was really a product of the African American experience in this country,” Williams told The Informer. “Frat brothers and sorority sisters, chose to use their bodies as an instrument to express love and pride in the organization and their organizations.
On June 6, I attended a performance of The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. “If you love the visual arts, if you love dance, if you love music, I think this show has so many elements in it that is really a must-see production,” founder C. Williams founded Step Afrika 30 years ago. The world-renowned group uses the dance styles of historically Black fraternities and sororities, traditional African dances, and contemporary dance and art forms in the works they create.
Between 1910 and 1970, an estimated six million Black Americans left the South for the Northeast and Midwest in search of better lives. In the early 1940s, Jacob Lawrence, a young Black artist, memorialized the cultural impact of the movement in his Migration Series. Sixty colorful panels tell the stories of families like his who moved North to escape brutality and mistreatment. In his paintings, Lawrence celebrates the resilience of African American communities despite centuries of oppression.
When you see the performance, you will not only see the dancers perform, but you’re going to see Jacob Lawrence’s paintings projected on screen.
Coyaba Dance Theater and the Village Celebration
Dear Dance Place Community,This season we have curated a diverse and robust season with intentionality and care, as we honor our theme, Between Living and Dreaming. We are grateful for the ongoing conversations with our community of stakeholders and partners, as we share our progress, joys, challenges, and triumphs.
Today, we are formally announcing that Dance Africa DC (DADC) will be on hiatus for the 2024-2025 season; there will not be a festival this June. We recognize how much this festival means to the local African dance community and understand that this news may bring disappointment. Please rest assured that DADC remains an essential part of Dance Place, continuing under the leadership of Griot Sylvia Soumah, Founder and Artistic Director of Coyaba Dance Theater.
Instead of DADC, we are proud to partner with Griot Sylvia Soumah and Carla Creative in supporting Coyaba’s Village Celebration, which will take place from June 2-7, 2025 at both Dance Place and Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mount Rainier, MD. More details on these events will be shared in the coming weeks.
Founded in 1997, Coyaba Dance Theater presents traditional and contemporary West African dance and music, celebrating the diverse ethnic groups and rich cultural traditions of West Africa. The company has graced renowned stages such as The Kennedy Center, The Publick Playhouse, the Lincoln Theatre, and the Lisner Auditorium, as well as international platforms like the World Culture Open in Seoul, South Korea. We are honored to continue working with them and to keep the spirit of Dance Africa DC alive through this collaboration.
Looking ahead, Dance Africa DC will return in 2026, refreshed and stronger than ever.
Melvin Deal's Influence
Melvin Deal reflects on his work performing, choreographing, managing, and promoting African dance, which he has been involved in for over half a century. He speaks about how when he started dancing it was generally understood that you had to do ballet, if you wanted to be successful. But he was drawn to African dance and decided to follow that desire. At the time, decolonization was happening in Africa. Part of his work was fighting stereotypes about Africa. He reflects that at the time they were being romantic about being Africans. His interests brought him to take his first trip to Africa in 1969.
Many of his former students were at-risk youths that credit him with having changed the direction of their lives. Through his African Heritage dancers, he won legitimacy for African culture in the community and the larger city. He speaks about educating a Washington Post writer about Africa dance and how the resulting articles led to a large uptick in attendance at African dance events. He expresses concerned about young people's sense of personhood, 'I feel like I am someone now', is the feeling he wants young people to feel.
Melvin Deal has been an integral part of the Washington, D.C. African dance community for over five decades. He is a Washington, D.C. native that started dancing in 1959. He graduated from Howard University in 1965. His contributions include having trained countless at-risk youth in dance, residencies at all the major Washington, D.C.
Black Artists and Cultural Movements in D.C.
Throughout history, African American theatermakers and dancers have used their talents to educate, entertain and empower audiences. In D.C. - from dancer, director and visionary Mike Malone to the District-based arts company Step Afrika! “Artists shift culture,” said District native and theatermaker ChelseaDee Harrison, who has spent more than two decades navigating throughout D.C.’s theater and dance communities. “Artists make us confront the reality of our connectedness. Through theater, African Americans are “seen as all kinds of people as opposed to just one kind of person’s representation,” explained D.C.
During the “New Negro Movement,” of the 1920s and 30s, D.C. also proved as an important location for Black artists to work, network, and thrive. “We were perfecting a technique that wasn’t created with African bodies in mind. As African American sororities and fraternities, founded in the early 1900s, evolved at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), so did traditions. “Greek Sings,” when sororities and fraternities showcased sacred songs, began incorporating movements.
By the Black Arts Movement of the 1970s, D.C. “We celebrate Black art every day, every, every minute. For me, art is life. Howard associate professor Dr. Khalid Y. “I deeply believe that theater offers the possibility to lead marginalized people, oppressed people, and particularly Black people to freedom and liberation,” said Long.
History of Stepping
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