This year’s 47th DanceAfrica performance, entitled ‘The Origin of Communities / A Calabash of Cultures’, is a joyous celebration of Cameroon and its dance heritage, and seeks nothing less than to reach back into the very origins of human consciousness, and find out what we can learn from “the land of the most ancient of beings”. 

And it is magnificent. The experience really begins for the crowd outside the theatre, where DanceAfrica’s annual Bazaar is in full swing in the streets around the theatre. This reviewer experienced the joys of cod fritters and sweet & spicy chicken wings amongst the dizzying display of over 150 vendors selling fabrics, jewelry, food, and much more. 

Entering BAM’s gorgeous Howard Gilman Opera House, we are treated to an awe-inspiring cultural offering, which truly enacts its goal of healing and uniting a community through dance. After the opening procession, in which DanceAfrica’s Council of Elders take their seats, the festival’s Artistic Director Abdel R. Salaam welcomes us with a powerful invocation to greet our neighbours, and tell them ‘I love you, I will protect you’. It is a sign of the power of community, and the spiritual and cultural role the festival plays in bringing the African diaspora together for an annual reunion like no other. Then begins the dance. As Abdel shared, this year’s performance was inspired by a trip to Cameroon which led to a profound encounter with the Baka people. A strong ecological theme runs throughout the evening, as we are encouraged to honour the Great Mother, and learn from the Baka chief’s words, that “we and the rainforest are one”. The DanceAfrice SpiritWalkers, Abdel’s own troupe, depict this encounter between the American visitors and their Cameroonian counterparts in a powerful, full-bodied ensemble performance, which brings the rainforest to life, with fabulously verdant costumes, lighting, and sound design, and a dream-like encounter with the Mother Rainforest herself.

We are then treated to the masterful, buoyant energy of the ‘Women of the Calabash’, who combine stunning vocals with traditional instruments, wowing the crowd with a virtuosic display of musical power. This is followed by a ground-shaking masked dance by ‘Siren – Protectors of the Rainforest’, who are joined by the jaw-dropping acrobatics of stilt walker Sarauniya, and the sheer wall of energy that is ‘The Billie’s Youth Arts Academy Dance Ensemble’, which combines heady abandon with tremendous, radiant skill. The evening concludes with an honouring of the festival’s founder Chuck Davis, as we recite his mantra: ‘peace, love, and respect for everybody’, and it is a message well worth taking home, as we emerge into the beauty of a Brooklyn evening, re-vivified and re-connected by DanceAfrica’s ongoing power.

Image credit: Tony Turner