DanceAfrica

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. Included are indoor and outdoor performance including live music, a film series, master classes, education programs, and an outdoor bazaar. Its current artistic director is Abdel R. Salaam.

History
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. 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. 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. In 1967 Davis formed the Chuck Davis Dance Company at the South Bronx Community Action Theatre, later moved to Bronx Community College. 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. 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. Rennie Harris is also one choreographer.

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. The 20th Anniversary Celebration in 1997 debuted the BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble, a collaboration between BAM and the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation’s Youth Arts Academy that has become an annual crowd favorite.

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. DanceAfrica embodies tradition, but also a spirit of change and growth reaching back into the past and forward into the future, embracing the links between cultures across the African Diaspora, always bearing the message, “Peace, love, and respect for everybody!” In 2007, DanceAfrica celebrates its 30th festival with ''30 Years of DanceAfrica: Remember! Honor! Respect! An African Dance Odyssey'', and marks another milestone—its founder Baba Chuck Davis’ 70th birthday.

Performance history
• 2007 30 Years of DanceAfrica: Remember! Honor! Respect! An African Dance Odyssey

• Bambara Drum and Dance Ensemble

• Forces of Nature Dance Theatre Company

• Kulu Mele African-American Dance Ensemble

• Ndere Troupe

• Sabar Ak Ru Afriq Dance Theatre

• BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble

• 2006  Legacy: African Dance in Our World

• Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn

• Perú Negro

• Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble

• BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble

• 2005  Rhythmic Heritage: Going Full Circle

• Asase Yaa African-American Dance Theatre

• L’ACADCO—A United Caribbean Dance Force

• Mamadou Dahoué and the Ancestral Messengers Dance Company

• BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble

• 2004  A Dancers's path: Ancient Traditions, Modern Trends

• The Bambara Drum and Dance Ensemble

• Ezibu Muntu African Dance Company

• Nii Tettey Tetteh and the Kusun Ensemble

• Shaka Zulu, guest artist

• BAM/Restoration Dancefrica Ensemble and Kusun Atsiagbekor

• 2003  Rhythmic Rites and Rituals: Connecting Cultural Borders

• Kulu Mele African-American Dance Ensemble

• Muntu Dance Theatre

• Resurrection Dance Theatre of Haiti

• BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble

• 2002  25 Years of DanceAfrica: Africa, My Africa

• Ballet Folclorico Cutumba

• Chuck Davis Dance Company

• Charles Moore Dance Theatre

• Forces of Nature Dance Theatre Company

• Rennie Harris PureMovement

• LaRocque Bey School of Dance

• Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn

• Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble

• BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble

• 2001 Rhythms from the Circle of Life

• Forces of Nature Dance Theatre Company

• Sabar Ak Ru Afriq Dance Theatre

• Ndere Troupe

• BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble

• 2000  Cultural Connections

• Djoulé African

• Génies Noirs

• Rennie Harris PureMovement

• BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble

• 1999   Hear the Movement See the Rhythm

• Ballethnic Dance Company

• Mizizi

• Ishangi African Dancers

• BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble

• 1998  African Roots in American Soil: Male Rites of Passage

• Mask Dance Company featuring Mamadou Dahoué

• Sankofa Dance Company

• IWISA Music and Dance Company

• BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble

• 1997  DanceAfrica ’97: 20th Anniversary Celebration

• African-American Dance Ensemble

• Bokandéye African-American Dance Theatre

• Calabash Dance Theatre

• The Chakaba

• Charles Moore Dance Theatre

• Chuck Davis Dance Company

• Dinizulu African Dancers, Drummers & Singers

• Djembe Orchestra

• Djoulé African

• Forces of Nature Dance Theatre Company

• LaRocque Bey Dance Company

• Marie Brooks Pan-Caribbean Dancers

• Mask dance Company

• Moving with the Spirit

• Nile Ethiopian Ensemble

• N’Tore

• PAKA’ Dance Company

• Rennie Harris PureMovement

• Restoration Student Dance Ensemble

• Roots of Brazil

• Sabar Ak Ru Afriq Dance Theatre

• Women of the Calabash

• 1996  Rites of Passage: Celebrating Women of the African Diaspora

• Rennie Harris PureMovement

• Women of the Calabash

• Nile Ethiopian Ensemble

• Bokandéye African-American Dance Theatre

• 1995  Honor the Source—Africa the Motherland

• Dinizulu African Dancers, Drummers & Singers

• Roots of Brazil

• Paká Dance Company

• Djoulé African

• Rennie Harris PureMovement

• 1994  Year of the Child

• Les Guirivoires

• Marie Brooks Pan-Caribbean Dancers

• Moving with the Spirit

• TriShades of Gold

• Djoulé African

• 1993  DanceAfrica 1993 Sweet 16!

• Dinizulu African Dancers, Drummers & Singers

• Charles Moore Dance Theatre

• A Touch of Folklore and More

• Maimuna Keita School of African Dance

• Djimo Kouyate

• African Heritage Drummers and Dancers

• Malaki Ma Kongo

• Kairaba West African Dance Company

• LaRocque Bey Dance Company

• Sabar Ak Ru Afriq Dance Company

• Calabash Dance Theatre

• Bradley Simmons and the Dance Africa Djembe Orchestra

• Forces of Nature Dance Theatre Company

• International African Islamic Ballet

• Kan Kouran Dance Company

• Chuck Davis Dance Company

• Women of the Calabash

• Ntore Dancers

• Art of Black Dance And Music

• DanceBrazil

• African-American Dance Ensemble

• Kutero and the DanceAfrica Djembe Orchestra

• Baba Ishangi

• 1992  The Glory of African Dance: A Cultural Jubilee

• International African Islamic Ballet

• Kairaba West African Dance Company

• LaRocque Bey Dance Company

• Malaki Ma Kongo

• Alyo Children's Dance Theatre

• A Touch of Folklore and More

• 1991  The Griot's Corner

• African-American Dance Ensemble

• Forces of Nature Dance Theatre Company

• Ladygourd Sangoma

• A Touch of Folklore and More

• 1990

• Dinizulu African Dancers, Drummers & Singers

• Forces of Nature Dance Theatre Company with guest artists Thunderbird American Indian Dancers

• Magic Dancers of Zaire

• 1989  The Language of the Drum, The Movement of Dance, The African Beat Creates Dance

• Les Guirivoires

• M.F.O.A. Message from Our Ancestors

• Muntu Dance Theatre

• 1988  Today's Rhythms, Drums Toward the Future, Reflections of Africa

• Urban Bush Women

• Les Guirivoires

• Sabar Ak Ru Afriq Dance Theatre

• 1987  Under the Baobab Tree: The Honoring of the Elders

• The African-American Dance Ensemble

• Calabash Dance Theatre

• Dinizulu African Dancers, Drummers & Singers

• Arthur Hall Afro-American Dance Ensemble

• Kan Kouran Dance Company

• Charles Moore Dance Company

• Sabar Ak Ru Afriq Dance Theatre

• Women of the Calabash

• Djimo Kouyate

• 1986  The Legacy: Celebration of Motherhood

• Chuck Davis Dance Company

• Calabash Dance Theatre

• Forces of Nature Dance Theatre Company

• Kan Kouran Dance Company

• Odadaa! International Dance Company

• Sabar Ak Ru Afriq Dance Theatre

• 1985  The Grand Celebration

• Ko-thi Dance Company

• Arthur Hall Afro-American Dance Ensemble

• International Afrikan American Ballet

• Bernice Johnson Dance Company

• Chuck Davis Dance Company

• Muntu Dance Theatre

• Charles Moore Dance Theatre

• Izulu Dance Theatre

• Art of Black Dance and Music

• Dinizulu African Dancers, Drummers & Singers

• Sabar Ak Ru Afriq Dance Theatre

• A Touch of Folklore and More

• Calabash Dance Theatre

• Women of the Calabash

• 1984

• Bucket Dance Theatre

• Afro-Brazilian Dance Company

• Melvin Deal's African Heritage Dance Society

• Dinizulu African Dancers, Drummers & Singers

• Charles Moore Dance Theatre

• International Afrikan American Ballet

• Women of the Calabash

• 1983  6th Big Season

• Dinizulu African Dancers, Drummers & Singers

• International Afrikan American Ballet

• Izulu Dance Theatre

• Art of Black Dance and Music

• Chief Bey

• Calabash Dance Theatre

• Women of the Calabash

• A Touch of Folklore and More

• dancers from the Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center

• 1982  DanceAfrica 82

• Muntu Dance Theatre

• Ladji Camara

• Charles Moore Dance Theatre

• Izulu Dance Theatre

• Lady Helena “O’Luoju” Walquer

• Sabar Ak Ru Afriq Dance Theatre

• 1981  The First National Festival of African American Dance Companies

• Dinizulu African Dancers, Drummers & Singers

• Chuck Davis Dance Company

• Charles Moore Dance Theatre

• International Afrikan American Ballet

• Izulu Dance Theatre

• Art of Black Dance and Music

• Muntu Dance Theatre

• Ko-Thi Dance Company

• 1980  A Festival of African-American Dance Companies

• Dinizulu African Dancers, Drummers & Singers

• Chuck Davis Dance Company

• Charles Moore and Dances & Drums of Africa

• International Afrikan American Ballet

• Izulu Dance Theatre

• 1979  DanceAfrica ‘79

• Dinizulu African Dancers, Drummers & Singers

• Chuck Davis Dance Company

• Charles Moore and Dances & Drums of Africa

• International Afrikan American Ballet

• Little Black Heritage Dancers

• 1978  A Celebration of Life

• Chuck Davis Dance Company

• Dinizulu African Dancers, Drummers & Singers

• Arthur Hall Afro-American Dance Ensemble

• Charles Moore and Dances & Drums of Africa

• International Afrikan American Ballet

• 1977

• Chuck Davis Dance Company

• Lepercq Space

DanceAfrica DC
Since 1987, annually in June, Chuck Davis serves as the master of ceremonies of the Festival in Washington, DC, hosted by Dance Place.

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. 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. DanceAfrica, DC is one of the longest running arms of this nationwide phenomena, celebrating over 30 years of education, artistry and advocacy for African culture in our nation's capital.

DanceAfrica Chicago
DanceAfrica Chicago began in 1990 and is presented by Columbia College Chicago. The Festival did not occur between the years of 2006-2007.