Step Afrika! Set to Electrify DC Audiences in First Home Performance Series

Step Afrika! Set to Electrify DC Audiences in First Home Performance Series

WASHINGTON, April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Critically acclaimed Washington-based performance dance company Step Afrika! is poised to move, educate and unify audiences during its inaugural Home Performance Series of seven electrifying performances spanning five days from May 31 through June 4 at the GALA Theatre-Tivoli (3333 14th Street, NW).

Founded in 1994 as the first dance company dedicated to stepping, Step Afrika! celebrates the authentic African-American dance tradition through national and international performance tours. The group also features an award-winning arts-in-education program which recently earned the Mayor's Arts Award for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education. In line with Step Afrika's devotion to education, the Home Performance Series follow a month- long combination of classes and performances at local public schools.

The Home Performance Series, a co-presentation with the Washington Performing Arts Society, will kick off an annual string of performances devoted to expanding Step Afrika!'s burgeoning Washington fan base. The Series will feature New York-based David Pleasant from the hit stage play Crowns and will begin with a special opening night reception at 6 pm and performance at 7:30 pm on Wed., May 31. The Series will continue with one show each evening at 8 pm on June 1-2 and will culminate with daily 3 pm matinees and 7:30 pm evening shows on June 3-4.

"Home is truly where the heart is, and we intend to put all of our passion for this tremendous dance form and our home city into bringing D.C. area audiences to their feet," said C. Brian Williams, Step Afrika! Founder and Executive Director.

With its liberating cadence, stepping is part military drill, part tap dance, part South African gumboot dance, whose syncopated steps can be traced back to African-American percussive dance forms of the early 19th Century. Rooted in the richness of African dance, Step Afrika!'s dancers burst onstage in a flurry of heart-pounding body slaps, fast-paced, synchronized kicks and stomps, rhythmic call-outs, and lyrical spoken word.

Once the domain of historically black Greek letter fraternities and sororities, stepping has, according to Williams, "graduated from college, and spread into public schools, theaters and venues all around the world." Movies such as teen flick Drumline, Tom Green's Road Trip, and Spike Lee's School Daze, and a spot with Kanye West and Jamie Foxx during the 2006 Grammys, reinforce the broadening appeal of stepping.

"Watching Step Afrika! in action is a potent, powerfully visual and aural experience," offers Neale Perl, President of The Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS). "I'm thrilled to know that Washington can look forward to an annual series of performances from one of our most compelling home-grown dance companies."

Tickets to the opening night performance and reception are $75. General admission seating is $30 and student seating is $15 (with valid student ID). Tickets will be available April 24. To purchase tickets, contact WPAS at 202- 785-WPAS (9727), visit the WPAS box office at 2000 L Street, NW, Suite 510, Monday-Friday, 9:30 am-5 pm, or log onto http://www.stepafrika.org/.

Contact:

Gretchen Cook-Anderson
Phone: 301-879-9200

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com/.

Source: Step Afrika!

CONTACT: Gretchen Cook-Anderson, +1-301-879-9200, for Step Afrika!

Web site: http://www.stepafrika.org/

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