Krannert Center

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Step Afrika!: Drumfolk

Event Type
Performance
Sponsor
Marquee
Location
Colwell Playhouse
Date
Feb 6, 2020   7:30 pm  
Cost
$10-25
Contact
Bridget Lee-Calfas
E-Mail
bklee@illinois.edu
Phone
217-333-6282
Views
45

Step Afrika!, the first professional organization dedicated to the African-American tradition of stepping, has amazed Krannert Center audiences twice before with its lightning-fast footwork, percussive chants, and incredible synchronicity. Its newest creation, Drumfolk, celebrates the early development of African-American percussive traditions including patting juba, hambone, and ring shout—leading to art forms such as tap dance and, of course, stepping. While exploring this important heritage, Drumfolk reflects on the harsh conditions in the American South that coincided with the practice of these transcendent musical forms and how the fortitude of people who were enslaved enabled the birth of new, inspiring traditions such as spirituals, field hollers, and shouts.

Recommended for ages 9 and up.

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