C. Brian Williams, Founder & Executive Producer

Lamar Lovelace, Executive Director

Mfoniso Akpan, Artistic Director

Conrad R. Kelly II, Assistant Artistic Director

Margo Cunningham, Senior Marketing Manager

Pascha Barnwell, Company Manager

Chrystal ‘Chrys’ Vaughan, Manager, Events and Special Projects

Melissa Brown, Production Manager

Conrad R. Kelly II

Kenneth L. Alexander

Nya Christian

Ariel Dykes

Keomi Givens Jr.

Kamala Hargrove

Isaiah O'Connor

Ericka Still

Pelham Warner Jr.

Robert Warnsley

TRIBUTE CHOREOGRAPHED BY JAKARI SHERMAN

Tribute pays homage to the African American step show. The work combines the distinct stepping styles from different fraternities and sororities and blends them to showcase the incredible variety of stepping. Tribute includes all the exciting elements of the step show—the use of props, ripples and floor work, creative formations, and audience participation.

NDLAMU CHOREOGRAPHED BY JACKIE SEMELA

Ndlamu is a traditional dance of the Zulu people and for more than 25 years, Step Afrika! has studied the dance form through the Company’s long-standing partnership with the Soweto Dance Theater. Step Afrika! makes this Ndlamu uniquely its own featuring solos created by each dancer as well as the addition of contemporary movement.

ISICATHULO CHOREOGRAPHED BY JACKIE SEMELA

Isicathulo or “the gumboot dance” is a tradition created by South African workers who labored in the oppressive mining industry of then-apartheid South Africa. Isolated from their families for long periods, the miners transformed their rubber boots into percussive instruments to not only entertain but to share secret messages with each other. Isicathulo has become one of the most popular dance forms in South Africa and has striking similarities to the African-American tradition of stepping.

SOLO

Traditionally, stepping is performed by groups, big and small. In this Solo, Step Afrika! investigates the form at its most intimate level.

CHICAGO CHOREOGRAPHED BY JAKARI SHERMAN

Chicago finds the rhythm in everyday situations. It is a percussive symphony using body percussion and up to 5 complex polyrhythms performed simultaneously in order to narrate a percussive dance “story.” Inspired by a summer spent in the Windy City, this ground-breaking work transforms the 100+ year old, folkloric tradition of stepping into contemporary performance art.

SPECIAL NOTE: Audience participation has been a part of the step tradition since its inception in the 1900s. Members of the audience are invited to clap, stomp, cheer, and participate in call and response with the Artists.

Founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams, Step Afrika! is the world’s leading authority on the art form of stepping. Under Williams’ leadership, stepping has evolved into one of America’s cultural exports, touring more than 60 countries across the globe and ranking as one of the top 10 African American Dance Companies in the U.S.

Step Afrika! blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities; traditional African dances; and an array of contemporary dance and art forms into a cohesive, compelling artistic experience. Performances are much more than dance shows; they integrate songs, storytelling, humor, and audience participation. The blend of technique, agility, and pure energy makes each performance unique and leaves the audience with their hearts pounding.

Step Afrika! promotes stepping as an educational tool for young people, focusing on teamwork, academic achievement, and cross-cultural understanding. The Company reaches tens of thousands of Americans each year through a 50-city tour of colleges and theaters and performs globally as Washington, DC’s one and only Cultural Ambassador.

Step Afrika! has earned Mayor’s Arts Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education, Innovation in the Arts, Excellence in an Artistic Discipline, and was inducted into the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) Hall of Fame, the first Dance Company to earn this honor. Step Afrika! headlined President Barack Obama’s Black History Month Reception and performed at the first ever Juneteenth Celebration at the White House. The Company is featured prominently at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture with the world’s first stepping interactive exhibit.

Learn more about Step Afrika!  
Share your experience! #StepAfrika 
www.stepafrika.org 

Headshots of the Company and Staff by Keith Major. 

Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund. For information on events, go to MiddlesexCountyCulture.com