STEP AFRIKA! Virtual Event Kicks Off Black History Month at HVCC
By Nolan Cleary, Managing Editor
STEP AFRIKA! Is the first expert dance company in the world that specializes in the tradition of stepping, a combination of traditional African and modern dance. Although they are based in Washington D.C., they have toured all throughout the United States. Their upcoming virtual performance “Stono” is a celebration of strength, unity, and resilience among the black community since slavery.
The program portrays September 9 in 1739, when twenty African American slaves declared their fight for freedom by the Stono River in South Carolina. The Negro Act of 1740 outlawed African Americans from playing drums, and slaves began using their bodies as percussion instruments to combat this.
The event has been advertised as an educational program for students. Their website reads “STEP AFRIKA!’s signature performance shares the step tradition of audience participation and closes with a complex, polyrhythmic percussion symphony that brings audiences to their feet.”
STEP AFRIKA! was founded in 1994 by businessman C. Brain Williams. Since then, the group has grown tremendously while touring over 60 countries throughout the globe. The event was arranged by Hudson Valley’s Cultural Affairs department.
Step AFRIKA has also received a number of accolades as well. Awards include the Mayor’s Arts Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education, Innovation in the Arts, and Excellence in an Artistic Discipline.
STEP AFRIKA! has also been heavily featured at Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History & Culture. Former President Barack Obama used the event to headline Black History Month at the White House.
The event first arrived at Hudson Valley Community College in 2013. The event was a hit on campus, leading to the group returning in 2017. Due to popular demand, STEP AFRIKA! will return for the third time in Spring 2021.
In addition to STEP AFRIKA, multiple speakers are said to take part in a series of virtual events including a journalist, Dorothy Butler Gilliam, and soccer player and activist Abby Wambach have been announced to speak at events.
According to its description, these events “honors the spirit of peaceful resistance and activism that remains a critical part of American freedom. During Black History Month, Hudson Valley Community College Cultural Affairs program offers an extended screening opportunity to the public from Feb. 1 through 14.”
All upcoming virtual events are free for students, and can be accessed online. Each performance or speaker will be accompanied by a Q&A segment towards the end; all are welcome to join and ask questions.