2008 Woodie Awards
Step Afrika!
Stacy Walz
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Culture
Based in Washington, D.C., Step Afrika began in December 1994 as a partnership with South Africa's Soweto Dance Theatre. Step Afrika has since performed in North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and most recently, Western Oregon Univeristy.
On Tuesday, April 15, six dancers from the company performed at Western, demonstrating stepping, Zulu, gumboot and tap dances. Member, Makeda Abraham described stepping as a "highly energetic polyrhythmic dance form." In stepping, the only music that is produced is by feet and hands on the floor or the body.
Stepping grew out of the singing and dancing of African American fraternities and sororities in the early twentieth century. Originally, stepping could only be learned through pledging at a Greek organization. But the rigorous pledging process was made illegal in the 1990s and stepping became more available.
After a brief slideshow of pledging pictures with the phrase "blood, sweat and tears" sung in the background, the company gave a live example of stepping. The dance incorporated the story of two college boys during pledging. Abraham, Mfon Akpan and Aseelah Shareef were sorority sisters who were already expert steppers.
Then the performance became interactive. Eight Western students were brought onstage and taught some stepping moves. After a five-minute tutorial, they were left to perform on their own.
A dance from the South African Zulu culture followed. It was accompanied by drums, played by company members Jakari Sherman and Ryan Johnson. The costumes for this dance were traditional and featured beads and furs.
Delonté Briggs then explained the origins of South African gumboot dancing, which began as a means of communication between mine workers who didn't already have a common language. The dance is like stepping, but has a unique source of rhythm from slapping the rubber boots that the miners commonly wore.
Giving the other dancers a break, Ryan Johnson performed a tap solo that prompted an audience member to yell out, "sexy mama!" Interactivity struck again when Johnson played a game with the audience, asking them to repeat his clapping and snapping patterns.
The other five dancers then reappeared for a final stepping routine. Finishing to thunderous applause and a standing ovation, Step Afrika imparted a nugget of wisdom before leaving the stage: "Just finish!"
The dancing was entrancing and nearly impossible to look away from. The company connected with the audience immediately and brought several laughs.
The only thing about the performance that could be criticized was the two brief videos that were shown. They seemed unnecessary, but they were short and did not detract enough from the performance. •
On Tuesday, April 15, six dancers from the company performed at Western, demonstrating stepping, Zulu, gumboot and tap dances. Member, Makeda Abraham described stepping as a "highly energetic polyrhythmic dance form." In stepping, the only music that is produced is by feet and hands on the floor or the body.
Stepping grew out of the singing and dancing of African American fraternities and sororities in the early twentieth century. Originally, stepping could only be learned through pledging at a Greek organization. But the rigorous pledging process was made illegal in the 1990s and stepping became more available.
After a brief slideshow of pledging pictures with the phrase "blood, sweat and tears" sung in the background, the company gave a live example of stepping. The dance incorporated the story of two college boys during pledging. Abraham, Mfon Akpan and Aseelah Shareef were sorority sisters who were already expert steppers.
Then the performance became interactive. Eight Western students were brought onstage and taught some stepping moves. After a five-minute tutorial, they were left to perform on their own.
A dance from the South African Zulu culture followed. It was accompanied by drums, played by company members Jakari Sherman and Ryan Johnson. The costumes for this dance were traditional and featured beads and furs.
Delonté Briggs then explained the origins of South African gumboot dancing, which began as a means of communication between mine workers who didn't already have a common language. The dance is like stepping, but has a unique source of rhythm from slapping the rubber boots that the miners commonly wore.
Giving the other dancers a break, Ryan Johnson performed a tap solo that prompted an audience member to yell out, "sexy mama!" Interactivity struck again when Johnson played a game with the audience, asking them to repeat his clapping and snapping patterns.
The other five dancers then reappeared for a final stepping routine. Finishing to thunderous applause and a standing ovation, Step Afrika imparted a nugget of wisdom before leaving the stage: "Just finish!"
The dancing was entrancing and nearly impossible to look away from. The company connected with the audience immediately and brought several laughs.
The only thing about the performance that could be criticized was the two brief videos that were shown. They seemed unnecessary, but they were short and did not detract enough from the performance. •
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