Step Afrika! Brings the Exhilarating, Percussive World of Stepping to the ECC Arts Center Nov. 22

Step Afrika! brings the exhilarating, interactive world of stepping to the Elgin Community College Arts Center, located in Building H on the Elgin Community College campus at 1700 Spartan Dr., Saturday, Nov. 22, 7:00 p.m.

Step Afrika! blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities, African traditional dance, and influences from a variety of other dance and art forms. Performances integrate dance, songs, storytelling, humor, and audience participation. Thee Village Voice hails Step Afrika! as “a jubilation of rhythm and spirit that harks back to the essence of dancing.”

Dancing for Step Afrika! will be the Company’s current artistic director Mfoniso Akpan, plus Company members Christopher Brient, Danielle Dubois Glover, Joe Murchison, Brittny Smith, Jordan Spry, Cortney Thrower; and dancer/percussionists Andrew Vinson Jr. and Chicago’s-own Artis J. Olds.

The 90-minute program features choreography by former Step Afrika! Artistic Director Jakari Sherman; the late Jackie Semela (one of the co-founders of the Step Afrika! International Cultural Festival) and former Company member Paul Woodruff, with contributions from countless artists over the years. Works will include:

· “Tribute,” which combines distinct stepping styles from different fraternities and sororities to showcase the incredible variety of stepping and pay homage to the African American step show.

· “Indlamu,” a touchstone of Zulu identity, is a traditional dance of the Zulu people and is performed with drums and full traditional Zulu attire.

· “Isicathulo,” or “the gumboot dance,” a tradition created to entertain, pass the time, and share secret messages by workers who labored in the oppressive mining industry of the then-apartheid South Africa

· A solo by Company member Christopher Brient

· “Chicago,” a groundbreaking work inspired by a summer spent in the Windy City. It requires the Company to maintain up to five complex polyrhythms while creating characters and interacting through movement and vocals.

Audience participation has been a part of the step tradition since its inception in the 1900s and the audience is invited to clap, stomp, cheer and participate in call and response with the artists.

The Washington D.C.-based Step Afrika! was founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams as the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. Step Afrika! began as an exchange program with the Soweto Dance Theatre of Johannesburg, South Africa, and has expanded to become a national and international touring company presenting performance, residencies and workshops worldwide. Step Afrika! promotes stepping as an educational tool for young people, focusing on teamwork, academic achievement and cross-cultural understanding. It reaches tens of thousands of Americans each year through a 50-city tour of colleges and theaters and performs globally as a cultural ambassador.

The ECC Arts Center located at 1700 Spartan Dr., presents Step Afrika! Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $32. For tickets or more information visit tickets.elgin.edu or call 847-622-0300.