Dallas Black Dance Theatre (DBDT) opens its 50th anniversary season with DanceAfrica, October 9-10. This marks the 21st year DBDT has hosted the nation’s largest annual festival honoring African music, dance and culture. The Dallas celebration, themed Ancestral Strength: Together Our Power Shapes Our Destiny, includes a free African dance class open to the public, a daytime dance festival and marketplace, and two evening performances with live music. DanceAfrica is sponsored by the Texas Commission on the Arts.
Performers include Dallas Black Dance Theatre, DBDT: Encore, and Dallas Black Dance Academy’s Allegro, Senior and Junior Performing Ensembles. Special guest artists are Lancaster High School DC3, Notes of Transformation and Bandan Koro: an African Drum & Dance Ensemble, made possible by Guest Artist Sponsor Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District.
Watch On Demand: The evening performances will be available to watch on demand from 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 10, through Monday, October 12. Tickets available at DBDT.com/DanceAfrica
“DanceAfrica gives our community a weekend to gather around the traditions that connect us,” said Richard A. Freeman, Jr., Artistic Director of Dallas Black Dance Theatreand DanceAfrica Festival organizer. “As we open our 50th anniversary season, we are glad to share that experience with Dallas: dancers, drummers and audiences from across North Texas, together in the same space and on the same rhythm.”
Community Dance Class
Presented by Masterclasses Sponsor Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas
The Dallas celebration begins with a free African Community Dance Class at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7. Open to the public and led by guest company Bandan Koro: an African Drum & Dance Ensemble, the class takes place at DBDT Studios (2700 Ann Williams Way, Dallas, TX 75201) in the Dallas Arts District.
DanceAfrica Festival & Marketplace
The festival takes place Saturday, October 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Klyde Warren Park (2012 Woodall Rodgers Fwy., Dallas, TX 75201). A dancer-led parade to the park begins at 9:45 a.m. on Flora Street. The event is free and family-friendly, featuring local vendors with crafts and products, food trucks and performances throughout the day by nearly 20 dance troupes from across the DFW Metroplex. Trendy Africa Magazine will host the fashion show tagged ‘African Fashion Experience VIII’
Evening Performances
Evening performances take place at 7:30 p.m. on October 9 and 10 at Moody Performance Hall, showcasing African dance traditions with live drumming by Bandan Koro: an African Drum & Dance Ensemble. Each evening concludes with DBDT’s communal Bantaba, a dance experience that brings together cultures and generations, with dancers, audience members and drummers sharing in universal rhythm.
About DanceAfrica
Baba Chuck Davis, the celebrated dancer and choreographer, founded DanceAfrica in 1977 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). It began as a blended showcase of African and African American traditions, created to bring awareness to African culture. The flagship festival continues annually in New York City, and it is now America’s largest celebration of African dance and culture, with organizations in cities including Washington, D.C., and Chicago hosting regional events.
LEGACY SPONSORS
Harold Simmons Foundation
CATALYST SPONSORS
Mellon Foundation, Texas Instruments, Communities Foundation of Texas
SEASON SPONSORS
City of Dallas Office of Arts & Culture, The Addy Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, The Dallas Foundation, Anonymous, The Blessing Family Endowment, Fichtenbaum Charitable Trust, The Village Giving Circle, Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District, Rea Charitable Trust, Holloway Family Foundation, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, NBC 5/Telemundo, Texas Metro News, American Airlines, Oversee My IT, The Dallas Post Tribune, Trendy Africa, Lexus, Arts & Culture Texas, DeDe in the Morning, The Dallas Morning News, fyi50+, ROXOR Spirits, Gracepoint Media
ABOUT DALLAS BLACK DANCE THEATRE
Founded in 1976 by Ann Williams, Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s mission is to create and produce contemporary modern dance at the highest level of artistic excellence through performances and educational programs that bridge cultures and reach diverse communities. As the largest and oldest professional dance company in Dallas, DBDT is the fourth-largest Black dance company in the nation, ranks in the top 10 largest contemporary modern dance companies in the U.S. and is included among the nation’s 50 largest ballet companies by Dance Data Project. Located in the thriving downtown Dallas Arts District, the nation’s #1 Arts District (USA Today), DBDT has performed worldwide for over 5 million arts patrons and 3 million students in 35 states and 16 countries on five continents. The performances include three Olympics (1992, 1996, and 2012), the nation’s most prestigious venues (Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Broadway, Jacob’s Pillow and Joyce Theatre), and for such luminaries as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and South African President Nelson Mandela. Since 2020, DBDT performances have been viewed virtually in 45 countries and expanded to include virtual student matinees and cultural literacy programs. Since 2021, the virtual education performances have been viewed by nearly 200,000 K-12 students across 28 districts throughout the nation. The Company has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as an American Masterpiece Touring Artist (2008) and received the Texas Medal of the Arts Award for Arts Education (2017).
ABOUT DBDT: ENCORE
Founded in September 2000 by Ann Williams, DBDT: Encore began as a showcase for top Dallas Black Dance Academy students and evolved into a professional company of multi-ethnic artists from across the nation. DBDT: Encore creates contemporary modern dance performances of the highest artistic quality while bridging cultures and reaching diverse communities. The company offers residencies including master classes, workshops, matinees, lecture-demonstrations, and full performances. With a diverse repertoire including modern, jazz, African, lyrical and spiritual works, Encore has performed works by both emerging and internationally recognized choreographers such as Baba Chuck Davis, Milton Myers, Christopher L. Huggins, and Katarzyna Skarpetowska. The company has collaborated with prestigious organizations including The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Dallas Museum of Art, and The Dallas Opera’s production of Show Boat. In 2022, they performed with QuestLove at the inaugural QuestLove’s Hip Hop Brunch. Beyond Dallas/Fort Worth, Encore has performed throughout the United States and internationally at festivals in Canada, Mexico, and Chile, earning a distinguished global reputation.
Event Details
- Community Dance Class: Wednesday, October 7, 6:00 p.m., DBDT Studios, FREE
- Festival & Marketplace: Saturday, October 10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Klyde Warren Park; parade begins 9:45 a.m. on Flora Street; FREE
- Evening Performances: October 9 and 10, Moody Performance Hall; 7:30pm; tickets at DBDT.com/DanceAfrica
- On Demand: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 10, through Monday, October 12; tickets at DBDT.com/DanceAfrica
For more details about DBDT: Encore, visit DBDT.com.
Trendy Africa Magazine is a proud media sponsor of Dallas Black Dance Theater.