Global DanceFest is here to teach us about Africa.
Marjorie Neset, director of North Fourth Art Center, picks a theme every year for the traveling international dance festival. Friday's event will be held at South Broadway Cultural Center, at 1025 Broadway Blvd. S.E. The rest will be at North Fourth, at 4904 Fourth St. N.W.
"We're trying to pick some themes of regions where we really know very little about," she said. "Americans are incredibly stupid about geography and history. Our school systems don't really promote it. The number of people who could name more than five countries on a blank map is probably a pretty small percentage. So, we're trying to do our little bit toward saying it's important to know about the rest of the world we live in."
Global DanceFest will draw dancers of African descent throughout March.
Ron K. Brown and his New York dance company, Evidence, will kick off the festival Friday.
Brown was born and raised in Brooklyn. In the second grade, he choreographed his first dance after going on a school trip to a dance company.
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"That was my first spark," he said. "You can make dances about people and about love and about God. I started (Evidence) when I was 19. I was terrified of taking a class, but the bug was always there to make dances and tell stories with the dance."
Brown said his company will perform three dances Friday: "Order My Steps," "Truth Don' Die" and "Grace."
"Order my steps - tell me what to do," he said. "God has told us what to do, made out your path."
The rest of March will feature acts from Congo, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, France, Benin and New York. Besides dancing, the festival will have film, food and sit-down discussions with the artists every Saturday at North Fourth from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. These events are free.
"Typically, when people present work, they bring in the artist," Neset said. "We pick them up from the airport, they perform, we pay them money, and they go back to the airport. We have maybe a little reception, but we say, 'Isn't that nice they were presenting dance from Africa?' But we don't tell you much about Africa or the way artists make their work or otherwise about their country. So, we've added this Saturday thing called In Context, and that includes film and discussions."
She said the In Context Saturday sessions will give people a bigger picture of the artists' backgrounds.
"These artists don't make art in isolation. It's not a sterile building," she said. "They make it in the middle of an economic environment, a political environment, so we're offering an idea of what those environments are."
North Fourth also has a photo exhibit by Antoine Tempé running through March called "Dancers of Africa." Tempé is a French photographer who takes pictures of African dancers all over the world. Tickets are available at South Broadway for the first show. The rest can be reserved at North Fourth. Bookworks, at 4022 Rio Grande N.W., also carries tickets.
March 7-30
$20 general admission
$12 students and seniors
Call North Fourth Art Center at 344-4542 for more information.
