Step Afrika! to make RIverPark debut

Jan. 21—Step Afrika!, a dance company based out of Washington, D.C., that emphasizes the art of stepping, will make its Owensboro debut at RiverPark Center at 7 p.m. Monday.

The professional dance company, which was founded in 1994, combines percussive dance styles that are practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities across the United States, along with traditional African dances such as Zulu, coupled with a number of contemporary dance styles and art forms while integrating songs, storytelling and humor.

"The performance that we are bringing to Kentucky (and) to the RiverPark Center really ... introduces audiences to the art form of stepping, both as traditional and contemporary styles, and also the results of our very first trip to Africa in 1994," said C. Brian Williams, founder and executive producer of Step Afrika! "Some of the dances that we perform in the show ... include some of the dances that we learned from that trip from 28 years ago."

The company is made up of 14 full-time dancers who are college graduates, with several of them that attended historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) and are members of historically Black Greek fraternities and sororities, who earned their spot through a "highly-competitive" two-day audition process.

For Williams, performing arts was always a part of his upbringing in Houston, Texas.

"I've always been a patron, an audience member, a supporter of the arts ever since I was very young. The arts have been a huge part of my life," Williams said.

Williams was introduced to the art form of stepping when he enrolled at Howard University in the late 80s, eventually becoming a member of the Beta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., where he learned how to step. But he was also getting more excited about learning about the culture of where stepping came from.

"That sort of began a tremendous interest in the continent of Africa and really wanting to travel there, just through different classes I took on campus," Williams said. "By the time I was graduating, and I was starting to look at what I would do post-graduation, I really wanted to head immediately to the continent of Africa and work and just kind of explore some of the cultures and traditions there."

Williams graduated with a degree in marketing from Howard University School of Business in 1990 and moved to the independent country of Lesotho, which is surrounded entirely by South Africa, to live and teach for a year while also exploring his personal interests.

"...When I first learned how to step, there wasn't a lot of information out there in terms of where the art form came from and how it actually even developed in African American communities," Williams said. "...There wasn't a lot of specifics about where on the continent for which the art form came (from)."

The Step Afrika! International Cultural Festival debuted in December 1994 in Johannesburg as an exchange program with the Soweto Dance Theatre.

Williams attributes the time frame that he was away from home helped him shape what the show has become.

"It was fascinating to be in South Africa in 1994 ...," Williams said. "The country was emerging from 50 (to) 60 years of apartheid ... that basically divided Blacks and whites. ...So, I'm living there ... before apartheid officially ends as a form of government .... And I'm there ... when Nelson Mandela is elected as president of the country. So, our performance of Step Afrika! pays tribute to Nelson Mandela as the first president of a democratic Republic of South Africa and it also celebrates the Zulu dance of South Africa, which is one of the most powerful well-known traditions. So, the audience will not just get African American art forms, but South African art forms that South Africans have been singing and practicing for over 28 years.

"Anybody who loves African drumming and traditional movement, this is going to be a really special show."

Since then, the group has toured to more than 60 countries, have been featured at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture as the world's first stepping interactive exhibit and currently ranked as one of the top 10 African American dance companies in the country. The group has also performed on Broadway, making its debut of "The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence" in November 2017 at the New Victory Theater in New York City.

The company has also performed for President George W. Bush on the White House grounds and had the opportunity to showcase their talents in the East Wing for President Barack Obama in 2016 as part of his Black History Month Reception, which Williams recalls fondly.

"It was incredible to be in that house, the people's house, the American people's house and to bring an African-American tradition and share it with all cultures of the United States of America," Williams said. "... It was a great, surreal, wonderful honor to do that."

For Monday's show, Williams wants the performance to be an experience for all to enjoy and be a part of.

"When Step Afrika! enters the theater, we really want to create a space where everyone can make music and enjoy this percussive art form of stepping, as well as these other more traditional African (stories)," Williams said. "This is not a performance that (it's) required for you to sit and just watch. We really want the audience to feel free and make noise, to yell at the artists hopefully good things and to help us create sound. When we step on the stage, we are basically trying to turn that stage and that entire theater into our drum and the audience helps us make music."

And he is excited to have the show be performed in front of a crowd once again.

"I'm so glad to be able to come back to performing, getting back into the theater and coming together again in spaces as safely as we can," Williams said. "This is a very special opportunity. The American theater is a very wonderful, unique space and I can't wait to get back in it ...."

Rich Jorn, executive director of RiverPark Center, said Step Afrika! will be a different but entertaining experience.

"I've seen a show at a booking conference and it's an absolutely beautiful show," Jorn said. "It's something that's never been in Owensboro that has never been in Owensboro before. It's absolutely gorgeous ...."

Tickets for the show are still available at riverparkcenter.org.