Step Afrika!
Saturday, November 2, 2024 8 PM
UC Berkeley Zellerbach Hall
Step Africa!
“The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence”
The performance of “Step Africa!” was preceded by a dynamic, important discussion held at the upstairs lobby of Zellerbach Hall. The central question was “What is ‘step’ dancing?” Jovan Scott Lewis, chair of UC Berkeley’s Geography Department, interviewed C. Brian Williams, founder and executive director of Step Afrika!, along with Antwan Davis, Bay Area music and dance educator and former member of Step Afrika!. The Q&A discussed the making of the work as well as its relation to Cal Performances’ Illuminations: “Fractured History” theme.
Many dance forms are familiar to the Cal Performance audience…tap, ballet, modern, jazz, etc. But “step” was a new category, not known to the general public. The presenters explained:
“step” was practiced by African-American sororities and fraternities on college campuses as recreation and an expression of culture unique to those groups. The dance also included “African dance and an array of contemporary dance and art forms.” Brian Williams founded Step Africa in 1994. The company “promotes stepping as an education tool for young people…”
It is an amazing show! In its eleven sections the company presents the ‘history’ of black migration from its African sources to the southern slave states and ultimately to the north, (especially Chicago), to a place where, ‘luggage in hand…they are thrilled about possibilities.”
Brilliant choreography, versatile dancers and musicians (drummers, saxophone, voices, etc.) all help to create this amazing history. The costume changes are endless: the dancing superb!
All of the “Movements” are noteworthy and exuberant; I will comment on just two.
“WADE” demonstrates that “the church remained the center of refuge and community building amidst harsh conditions…” The dance shows that sense of community by illustrating baptism rituals, group participation and individual devotion to the church. It is an exceptionally clear demonstration of individual and group choreography, synchronized to illustrate this theme.
In the “Trane Suite,” Movement One “establishes the connection between past and present: the rhythm of train north” It is danced to a Duke Ellington score. Some of the dancers carry suitcases; others are observers and celebrants. One dancer, an observer, sits, stage left, and performs what can only be classified as a ‘modern-dance’ solo. Amazing! The final section “Chicago’ “finds the migrant’s new rhythm in everyday situations.” Dancers walk on and off in ‘update’ costumes: (there is a spectacular dancer in a ‘baseball’ outfit!) The program notes that this ending section is “using body percussion and vocals to highlight the collective transformation of these brave men and women”.
Funding for Step Afrika! at a higher level is attributed to DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, and National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs program and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, among many other non-governmental sources.
Step Afrika! Is indeed a transformative (and learning) experience for the audience and the larger community. Let’s look forward to the company’s return in the near future.!
PS: Jacob Lawrence: The full title of the evening is (Step Afrika! The migrations: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence). Lawrence’s 60-panel “Migration Series’ are used as backdrop projections.
ARTISTIC TEAM
Mfoniso Akpan, artistic director, Jakari Sherman, director and projection designer, Conrad R. Kelly II, assistant artistic director, Marianne Meadows, lighting designer, production manager, and stage manager, Trevion Walker, assistant stage manager, Harlen Penn, original scenic design, Kenann Quander, original costume design, Patrick Calhoun, original sound design
CAST
Kenneth L. Alexander, Jai Bright Nya, Christian Ariel Dykes, Agyei Keita-Edwards, Keomi Givens Jr., Kamala Hargrove, Lionel D. Lyles II, Briona Jackson, Terrence Johnson, Conrad Kelly II, Abdou Muhammed, Isaiah O’Connor, Valencia Springer, Ericka Still, Brie Turner, Pelham Warner Jr., Robert Warnsley, Kanysha Williams