Step Afrika! performs “The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence” at Detroit Institute of Arts
Updated Oct 2, 2017
September 21, 2017 (Detroit)—Step Afrika!, the internationally renowned dance company dedicated to the tradition of stepping, performs “The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence” at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) on Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.
The performers take an intimate look into Lawrence’s iconic “Migration Series,” which tells the story of African American migration from the South to the North in the early 1900s. Step Afrika! blends projected images from the series with body percussion, dance, and spoken word with live and recorded music to tell the Great Migration story.
Following the performance, at 8:30 p.m., the audience can stay for a panel discussion of Lawrence’s “Migration Series” with Valerie J. Mercer, DIA curator of African American art, and members of Step Afrika! Additionally, the DIA has acquired loans of five paintings from “Migration Series” from the Phillips Collection, which will be on view in the African American art gallery. The audience is encouraged to see the works, either prior to or after the event. The museum is open until 10 p.m. on Fridays.
Tickets are $35 general admission, $20 ages 6-17 and $25 students, seniors and DIA members. For tickets, go to www.dia.org/StepAfrika!
Museum Hours and Admission
9 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesdays–Thursdays, 9 a.m.–10 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. General admission (excludes ticketed exhibitions) is free for Wayne, Oakland and Macomb county residents and DIA members. For all others, $14 for adults, $9 for seniors ages 62+, $8 for college students, $6 for ages 6–17. For membership information, call 313-833-7971.
About Step Afrika!
Founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams, Step Afrika! is the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. It now ranks as one of the top ten African American dance companies in the United States. The company blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities, African traditional dance and influences from a variety of other dance and art forms.
Step Afrika! reaches tens of thousands of Americans each year through 50-city tour of colleges and theatres and performs globally as Washington DC’s one and only Cultural Ambassador. Step Afrika!, served as the featured artist at the White House’s African American History Month Reception in February, 2016 under President Barack Obama and is featured prominently in the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture with the world’s first stepping interactive exhibit.
To learn more about Step Afrika! their 50-city tour and The Migration performance at the DIA, visit www.stepafrika.org.
Step Afrika!’s production of The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence at the DIA is made possible in part through an award from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge which funds ideas that engage and enrich Detroit through the arts. The Migration is presented in partnership with the DIA and the Detroit 67 Project: Looking Back to Move Forward.
September 21, 2017 (Detroit)—Step Afrika!, the internationally renowned dance company dedicated to the tradition of stepping, performs “The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence” at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) on Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.
The performers take an intimate look into Lawrence’s iconic “Migration Series,” which tells the story of African American migration from the South to the North in the early 1900s. Step Afrika! blends projected images from the series with body percussion, dance, and spoken word with live and recorded music to tell the Great Migration story.
Following the performance, at 8:30 p.m., the audience can stay for a panel discussion of Lawrence’s “Migration Series” with Valerie J. Mercer, DIA curator of African American art, and members of Step Afrika! Additionally, the DIA has acquired loans of five paintings from “Migration Series” from the Phillips Collection, which will be on view in the African American art gallery. The audience is encouraged to see the works, either prior to or after the event. The museum is open until 10 p.m. on Fridays.
Tickets are $35 general admission, $20 ages 6-17 and $25 students, seniors and DIA members. For tickets, go to www.dia.org/StepAfrika!
Museum Hours and Admission
9 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesdays–Thursdays, 9 a.m.–10 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. General admission (excludes ticketed exhibitions) is free for Wayne, Oakland and Macomb county residents and DIA members. For all others, $14 for adults, $9 for seniors ages 62+, $8 for college students, $6 for ages 6–17. For membership information, call 313-833-7971.
About Step Afrika!
Founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams, Step Afrika! is the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. It now ranks as one of the top ten African American dance companies in the United States. The company blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities, African traditional dance and influences from a variety of other dance and art forms.
Step Afrika! reaches tens of thousands of Americans each year through 50-city tour of colleges and theatres and performs globally as Washington DC’s one and only Cultural Ambassador. Step Afrika!, served as the featured artist at the White House’s African American History Month Reception in February, 2016 under President Barack Obama and is featured prominently in the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture with the world’s first stepping interactive exhibit.
To learn more about Step Afrika! their 50-city tour and The Migration performance at the DIA, visit www.stepafrika.org.
Step Afrika!’s production of The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence at the DIA is made possible in part through an award from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge which funds ideas that engage and enrich Detroit through the arts. The Migration is presented in partnership with the DIA and the Detroit 67 Project: Looking Back to Move Forward.