DanceAfrica began in New York more than three decades ago as a vibrant celebration of African culture and its worldwide diaspora. Now the festival has become a tradition in itself.
It’s an evolving custom, one that aims to remain authentic to its African roots, while recognizing that dance, and the people who create it, are constantly changing.
“Through word of mouth, we went from a small theater to the opera house at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which seats thousands of people,” said “Baba” Chuck Davis, the show’s artistic director.
“It’s become an institution in that people fit their vacation time around it, and schools plan their bus trips around it.”
Now in its 34th year, the festival’s first-ever Denver installment runs the next two weekends at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre.
It features performances from Washington’s Farafina Kan and Philadelphia’s Illstyle and Peace, and a bazaar of African and African-American crafts.
The festival aims to use African dance and music to span folk art and high art, tradition and innovation.
That’s often a mighty distance for people who aren’t already members of the African- American or dance communities. But DanceAfrica goes out of its way to show the connective tissue between Africa and mainstream America.
“Sometimes in the African dance scene you get what I call ‘The Ooga- Booga Society,’ ” said Davis. “It’s this idea of people running back and forth across the jungle and all that Tarzan stuff. Those dancers on stage are representing Africa, but it’s not really authentic because they didn’t take the time to research it.”
Davis, who travels annually to Africa, selects festival performers based on their ability to balance authentic African culture with entertainment relevant to contemporary audiences.
“The young woman (Naima Adedapo) who danced on ‘American Idol’ a few weeks back did an African traditional piece and received such rave reviews,” he said. “DanceAfrica is about traditions stemming from the continent of Africa, but we want every ethnicity to be represented. In Africa, you have people who are alabaster white to jet black and everything in between.”
The diversity of traditional African expression allows limitless interpretations, said Diallo Sumbry, managing director for Farafina Kan.
“It’s about using a high level of energy and artistry, and taking the traditional — which we’ve studied and maintained the integrity of — and mixing it with hip-hop, reggae and other types of music,” he said.
Sumbry, who also performs with Farafina Kan’s dance and drumming ensemble, is the second generation of African-Americans reconnecting to his West African heritage through the arts. His parents followed the turmoil and promise of the ’60s civil rights movement by rediscovering their cultural roots.
For him, it’s simply something he and his friends grew up with.
“As we began to get older, we wanted to put a new spin to the music for the generation coming up, and that led to my brothers forming Farafina Kan” in 2004.
The company, which translates to “sound of Africa,” has performed at past DanceAfrica events, but this is its first foray into the Mountain West. It mirrors the progression of DanceAfrica in general, which has taken place in cities such as Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Columbus, Chicago and Dallas in the past.
Davis, who has taught at Robinson’s annual summer intensives, felt it was the right time to expand to the Mile High City — for several reasons.
“It’s been an ongoing discussion for many years because I’ve always said DanceAfrica should be where we know people would understand it and be able to embrace it,” he said. “It has to be presented by someone who respects dance and respects the African tradition.”
Robinson first met Davis, founder of the acclaimed, North Carolina- based African American Dance Ensemble, in 1973. She has performed several of his works but forged a stronger bond with him as he taught at her International Summer Dance Institute the past few years.
So what sealed the deal?
Robinson’s senior director, Malik Robinson, began serious talks with Davis to bring DanceAfrica to Denver when Robinson hosted the International Association of Blacks in Dance conference in 2009.
“We knew we wanted to create a festival that was inclusive and would help people to understand our cultural connections,” Robinson said. “Ten years ago, we could have done a DanceAfrica festival here, but this is the right time.”
Robinson has attended several DanceAfrica events in the past and was impressed by the around-the- block lines at each performance.
“It was spectacular, from stilt walkers, acrobats, drummers extraordinaire and men flying through the air to elders coming dressed in regal attire from all backgrounds,” she said. “It’s a sense of ritual from beginning to end — leaving feeling so alive and apart of a world family.”
Many of the artists who have appeared nationally as part of Dance- Africa have also starred in Cirque du Soleil shows, Broadway productions of “The Lion King” and at Disney parks in Florida and California as master drummers and dancers.
“Next year, will you be purchasing your ticket far in advance to get a better seat?” Davis wondered. “I certainly hope so.”
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
DanceAfrica.
Dance, music and cultural celebration. Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre, 119 Park Avenue West. Featuring Farafina Kan, Illstyle and Peace, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble and others. Friday-May 1; May 6-8. Various times. $33-$38. 303-295-1759, ext. 13 or
