Last modified: Thursday, March 20, 2008
African American Dance Company presents its spring concert on April 4
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2008
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The African American Dance Company of Indiana University's African American Arts Institute will present its annual spring concert on April 4 at 8 p.m. in the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave., Bloomington.
The concert coincides with the first conference on "Blackness in Latin America and the Caribbean" at IU Bloomington. This conference provides an interdisciplinary forum for discussing the ways in which constructions of race have influenced culture, art, politics and nation-building efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean.
With performances characterized by energy, rhythm, precision and grace, the African American Dance Company captures and delivers the spirit of dance styles of the African Diaspora. The company's repertoire includes original choreography in a fusion of modern, jazz, African and Latin American dance styles.
The company seeks to widen the scope and appreciation of dance as a discipline through interdisciplinary projects that expose students and audiences to various aesthetic expressions. The company has collaborated with dancers, choreographers, singers, historians, photographers and even biologists within the IU faculty, the Bloomington community and beyond.
Iris Rosa, director of the African American Dance Company, also is a professor in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies. She has taught dance at the University of Ghana in Legon, Ghana, and in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. She has studied Afro-Cuban dance and music in Havana, Matanzas and Guantanamo, Cuba. She is a founding member of Sancocho: Music and Dance Collage, a performing ensemble featuring African diasporic music and dance and based in the Indianapolis area.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children and IU students with advance purchase (limit two per IU I.D.). Tickets are available at the Sunrise Box Office, 114 E. Kirkwood, 812-323-3020.
The African American Arts Institute, which has enjoyed a full year of performances and events, is one of the few collegiate arts program with an emphasis in African American performance traditions through credit-bearing ensembles. In 33 years, the AAAI has made a vital contribution to the cultural diversity of IU by preserving, promoting and celebrating African American arts traditions. The institute is led by Executive Director Charles E. Sykes.
