DanceAfrica 2018 celebrates the rich culture and history of South Africa with dance performances, workshops, visual arts, the FilmAfrica festival and, of course, the beloved DanceAfrica Bazaar.
The nation’s largest African dance festival returns for its 41st year from May 25 through May 28, 2018, with “Remembrance, Reconciliation and Renewal,” a tribute to the rich cultural history and traditions of South Africa. Since its inception in 1977 under the direction of the late Baba Chuck Davis, DanceAfrica has established itself as the largest celebration of African and African-American dance, music and culture. This year’s performance under the leadership of Artistic Director Abdel R. Salaam honors the centennial of Nelson Mandela’s birth with a celebration of freedom fighters past and present.
South African supergroup Ingoma KwaZulu-Natal Dance Company brings traditional movement idioms alongside the contemporary stylings of Durban-based Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre. They are joined by the BAM/Restoration Dance Youth Ensemble and, together, rejoice in the transcendent power of movement and music in a range of forms and traditions. This year’s performance draws parallels between South African anti-apartheid and American civil rights movements, portraying the struggles for justice and, ultimately, serving up triumphant celebrations of culture.
From Saturday, May 26 through Monday, May 28, DanceAfrica’s beloved bazaar will transform the streets surrounding BAM into a global, buzzing marketplace. An estimated 40,000 people from all five boroughs of New York and the tri-state area will celebrate the rich and diverse cultural heritage of Africa and its diaspora, and experience more than 150 vendors from around the world, offering African, Caribbean and African-American food, crafts and fashion. The bazaar also features entertainment for families. Rain or shine – it will be there!