Classical Roots: Dancing Through Life

by Mya Gibson

The idea of Classical Roots began nearly 25 years ago, in 2001 — a time when Cincinnati Music Hall was not always the most welcoming place for all members of the community. It was born out of a need for change, a desire to highlight and celebrate the rich contributions of Black musicians and composers in a space that has historically excluded them. It came about during a time when change was needed.

“Classical Roots had two lives,” recalls John Morris Russell (JMR), one of the program’s founders. Before Classical Roots became an annual program in Music Hall in 2011, it was a summer series of concerts held in Cincinnati’s historically Black churches, developed by JMR, Kathy Jorgensen-Finley and Anne Cushing-Reid. These early concerts fostered a deep sense of community, bringing people together in sacred spaces. That community followed Classical Roots to Music Hall, where it threw open its doors and welcomed everyone inside.

Within the Black experience, there is so much history and artistry to explore. Classical Roots has always aimed to tell a bigger story — one that couldn’t be confined to a single month of recognition. “We felt that every concert needed to have a strong, singular theme that would tell one small piece of a much bigger story,” JMR explains. Each year’s program is built around a theme that explores and celebrates the evolving narrative of Black excellence in the arts.

This year, the focus is dance, weaving movement into the powerful intersection of music and storytelling and creating a truly immersive experience for the audience. “We will give the audience something many have never seen before,” exclaims Don Sherman, Executive Director and President of the Cincinnati Black Theatre Company (CBTC).

 “For as long as there has been music, there has been dance,” notes JMR. “Before recorded time, there was someone who was the first to beat on a log with a stick, and someone else who immediately jumped up and started dancing. Musical styles and dance styles are profoundly linked.”

The CSO has the music aspects covered, but they needed collaborators to showcase the various forms of dance. Although the CSO has worked with many of these featured ensembles before, the liturgical dancers from the Cincinnati Black Theatre Company (CBTC) will be making their debut. “It’s going to be high praise. It is going to be a celebration,” Sherman states. “We’re going to give it to the audience, so, hold on to your seat. There may be people shouting. There may be people on their feet. It’s going to be a God-gift to those in the audience. I won’t say too much more because I want people to see it!”

Founded in November 2001, CBTC aims to preserve and advance Black Theatre within the community. CBTC has an expansive offering of theater productions, dance, performance and employment opportunities, community outreach, and educational programs.

At the heart of Classical Roots is its Classical Roots Community Choir. Jason Holmes, resident conductor of the Choir, began his journey with Classical Roots as a member of the chorus when seeking a Black musical community in Cincinnati. He quickly found that this program was more than just a newfound community or performance opportunity — it became a family. “Music Hall is a venerated space in Cincinnati, and I think it is so meaningful for Black audience members to be able to show up and for it to be filled with us, with our musical output,” Holmes says.

What makes Classical Roots even more special is the level of dedication from those who participate. Holmes emphasizes the sacrifices made by many members. “I know people have altered their work schedules so that they can participate in Classical Roots,” Holmes notes. “I know people have altered childcare schedules so that they can do this. It is a big commitment for folks and just highlights the actual work and skill that go into what we do.”

This commitment highlights not only the passion behind the program, but the level of skill, effort and dedication required to produce a concert of this magnitude. While Classical Roots celebrates elements rooted in Black culture, it simultaneously demands technical excellence from its performers.

Alongside the Cincinnati Black Theatre Company and the Classical Roots Community Choir, this year’s program will feature Ijo-Ugo West African Performing Arts, Revolution Dance Theatre, Q-Kidz dancers and AC Lincoln, a standout professional tap dancer. Whether it’s the harmonies of the choir or the beats of the Electric Slide, the audience is in for a treat.

Ijo-Ugo West African Performing Arts is no stranger to the stage at Music Hall, having collaborated several times over the years with the Cincinnati Pops. For Classical Roots, Ijo-Ugo will be performing Nigerian Dances written by the great Nigerian composer, ethnomusicologist and author Samuel Akpabot (1932–2000).

David A. Choate Jr. of Revolution Dance Theatre

Revolution Dance Theatre is a ballet company creating professional theatre and dance opportunities for African Americans and is in residence at the Aronoff Center for the Arts. Its founder, David A. Choate Jr., is the most recent winner of the MAC (the CSO’s Multicultural Awareness Council) Award for Diversity and Leadership in the Arts, and Revolution Dance Theatre has created the region’s only African American Nutcracker experience, Hot Chocolate. For Classical Roots, dancers from Revolution Dance will perform to works by Duke Ellington and a funk arrangement of Beethoven’s iconic Fifth Symphony.

Q-Kidz dancers have also performed alongside the Orchestra before and have been a vital part of the West End and Downtown communities for over 40 years. The Q-Kidz will showcase their dance prowess with Pharrell Williams’ “Happy.”

Tap dancing is one of the few dances that does not require musical accompaniment, as the sound of the taps is, in and of itself, music. Developed alongside jazz, tap dance is a fusion of Southern American and Irish dance styles, and New York native AC Lincoln has tapped alongside the greats, including Jimmy Slyde, Buster Brown, Chuck Green and Savion Glover. Lincoln will dance perhaps the most well-known tap, “The Charleston.”

AC Lincoln

As always, Classical Roots welcomes the CSO Nouveau Program students to the stage. This year, the students will perform the great British African composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor’s (1875–1912) Danse Negre.

The influence of Classical Roots extends far beyond the concert itself. Over the years, the program has helped deepen relationships between the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the city’s Black organizations, creating relationships that will last for years. It has also introduced audiences to artists and composers whose work has been historically overlooked in classical music spaces. For JMR, this ongoing evolution is the key to Classical Roots’ success. “Storytelling is very important because so many of these stories, people don’t know,” he says.

This commitment to storytelling ensures that Classical Roots remains relevant and impactful. By continuing to center on Black musical traditions and artists, the program not only enriches the CSO’s programming but also strengthens its role as a cultural leader in Cincinnati.

Classical Roots thrives on its deep community connections — on and off the stage. Singers and dancers from across the Greater Cincinnati area set aside their busy schedules to rehearse together, building relationships through shared artistry.

And as the community gathers once again at Music Hall for this year’s performance, the spirit of Classical Roots remains as powerful as ever, especially as it nears its 25-year anniversary. These two-and-a-half decades of passion and music-making have solidified the program as more than just a concert — it’s a celebration of culture, unity and the legacy of Black excellence in the arts.