As part of Northern Illinois University’s Black Heritage Month events, the NIU Center for Black Studies and the NIU School of Theatre and Dance are hosting a workshop and performance by Indiana University’s African American Dance Company.
The workshop includes a lecture, demonstration and Bantaba, and will be held, Friday, February 9 at 4 p.m. in Gabel Hall Room 113. It is free and open to the public. Please wear comfortable clothing. No street shoes are allowed on the dance floor.
The performance by the IU African American Dance Company is Saturday, February 10 at 2 p.m. in O’Connell Theatre in NIU’s Stevens Building. It is also free and open to the public.
Founded in 1974, the Indiana University African American Dance Company shares movement traditions and diverse dance forms of the African diaspora and African American culture. The company’s repertoire includes African dance styles, contemporary, modern, jazz, hip-hop, and various cultural forms.
Students in the Dance Company focus on embodied research through choreographic projects, performances, and workshops. They also receive master classes from top companies, including StepAfrika, Alvin Ailey, Ballet Hispánico, and Evidence Dance Company.
Under the Direction of Baba Stafford C. Berry, Jr., The African American Dance Company is a course offered for academic credit through the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies and a unit of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Indiana University Bloomington.
The workshop and performance at NIU are sponsored by the NIU Center for Black Studies, College of Visual and Performing Arts and School of Theatre and Dance. It is also supported in part by the NIU Arts and Culture Fee.
