Arts At The Armory's Feet Keep The Beat Festival Returns Later This Month

SOMERVILLE, MA — A three-day festival celebrating percussive dance traditions from around the world is returning to Somerville later this month with performances, workshops and a newly commissioned world premiere.

The fourth annual Feet Keep the Beat Festival will take place Thursday, July 30 through Saturday, Aug. 1 at Arts at the Armory on 191 Highland Ave. The nonprofit arts organization operates one of Somerville's signature cultural venues and hosts hundreds of performances, exhibitions and community events each year. Its Feet Keep the Beat Festival is one of five signature programs presented by the organization.

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The centerpiece of this year's festival is Roots and Wings: The Next Generation, a newly commissioned evening-length performance premiering Friday, July 31, at 7 p.m. in the Arts at the Armory Performance Hall. The production brings together six percussive dancers and five musicians to explore how rhythm, movement, and cultural traditions are passed from one generation to the next.

Several performers will share the stage with family members or students as part of the performance. West African dancer Joh Camara will perform alongside three of his children, with two daughters joining him in dance and his son, Tiemoko Camara, performing percussion. Tap dancer Ryan Casey will be joined by one of his students making an Arts at the Armory debut, while step dancer Lekisha Limage will perform with a niece.

Returning festival artists include Ariaki Dandawate and Anjali Nath in Kathak dance, Joh Camara in West African dance, Ryan Casey in tap, Lekisha Limage in step, flamenco guitarist Antonio Tran, percussionists Akili Jamal Haynes and Sory Diabate, and Tiemoko Camara. Tabla player Pranav Ghatraju joins this year's lineup.

"Feet Keep the Beat is about providing a platform for these rich percussive dance forms, almost all of which come to us from histories of oppression and marginalization, but it's also an opportunity to put these dance forms into conversation with each other, providing a model for intercultural conversation and learning, and a chance for rhythmic fireworks and innovation to emerge," Arts at the Armory Co-Director and CEO Stephanie Scherpf said in a statement.

The festival opens with a Traditional Irish Music and Dance Session from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. as part of Arts at the Armory's One Night Art School series. Community workshops led by featured artists will be held Saturday, Aug. 1, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Arts at the Armory is producing the festival under the leadership of Co-Director and CEO Scherpf and Co-Director and COO Jess White. Deborah Mason served as artistic advisor for Feet Keep the Beat and will also present the Boston Tap Party Showcase at the Armory on Aug. 1 following the festival showcase.

The festival has continued to expand since its launch, with the Feet Keep the Beat artist collective now touring throughout the region. Performances are also scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 12 at The Adams Theater in Adams and Sept. 19 at The Dance Hall in Kittery, Maine.

Tickets for ROOTS & WINGS: The Next Generation are available online.

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