Dances of Resistance: African-American Ring Shout & African-Brazilian Orixá Traditions
This program is made possible by the generous support of The David and Nicole Tepper Foundation
This community dance class investigates traditional and contemporary dance forms created and inspired by the descendants of the Yoruba, Angola, Fulani, Bakongo, and Akan people of West and Central Africa – these styles have persevered in the Americas.
Join us for a fun and energetic class led by an experienced instructor and steeped in traditional dances that symbolize elements of nature (earth, water, air, and fire). Participants will experience "ring shout" and movements of the Orixá traditions.
About The Instructor
Tamara Williams, Associate Professor, UNC Charlotte, earned her M.F.A. from Hollins University in collaboration with Frankfurt University (Germany). Williams' choreography has been presented internationally in Serbia, Switzerland, Trinidad, Jamaica, Mexico and Brazil. Moving Spirits, Inc. is her contemporary arts organization dedicated to performing, researching, documenting, and producing African Diaspora arts. Williams’ scholarly work includes "Giving Life to Movement: The Silvestre Dance Technique"; "Reviving Culture Through Ring Shout", published in The Dancer-Citizen; and "The African Diaspora and Civic Responsibility".
Williams received several Culture Blocks grants from the Mecklenburg County Arts & Science Council; the funding supports Moving Spirits' ongoing free African diaspora dance workshops throughout the Charlotte community. She was commissioned by The National Center for Choreography to create a dance film for her company, Moving Spirits, Inc. The film, ÌBÀ OBÌNRIN, is an award-winning film which has been screened nationally and internationally since June 2021. Williams also received a NC Trailblazer Award from the NC Dance Project.
About The Gantt Golden Year Dancer-in-Residence
LaTanya Johnson’s rhythmic journey blends the art of movement and storytelling through voice, theater, and visual arts.
Johnson choreographed and provided movement coaching for many productions including, A Raisin in the Sun, Seven Guitars, Ain't Misbehavin’, The Bluest Eye, For the Love of Harlem, A Soldier's Play, and The Piano Lesson. She has worked with Theatre Charlotte, On Q Productions, Free Reign Theater Company, and Brand New Sheriff (BNS) Productions. In 2016, Johnson curated a dance series in celebration of the Gantt Center’s 40th Anniversary, entitled "Catch the Dance".
Johnson’s conservatory training includes Philadanco (Philadelphia Dance Company), Historical New Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia, and Urban Bush Women Summer Leadership Institute, to name a few. She is the founder and artistic director of the Sycamore Project, a Charlotte-based “artivist” initiative using the arts to advocate and promote social and environmental justice.