The African American Arts Institute’s spring season will feature individual performances from the African American Dance Company on April 18, IU Soul Revue on April 25 and the African American Choral Ensemble on May 2. These performances are the culmination of a year-long commitment from students taking the corresponding courses for credit within the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies.
Baba Stafford C. Berry Jr., the director of the African American Dance Company, said it was founded in 1974. He said along with being a course, the company has always been an ambassador for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Stafford said the company’s spring concert is not only about students applying what they have learned throughout the fall and spring semesters, but also about displaying a cohesive theme.
“This year our concert title is ‘Going Forward Together,’” Stafford said. “Which is a distilled statement that’s from a larger African proverb which says ‘in order to go fast, go alone, but in order to go further, go together.’”
The course is about more than just dance, Stafford said, but also learning and understanding the Black history behind those dances.
Audiences can expect not only to be entertained but also to learn about things they may not have experienced before, Stafford said. Audiences will be moved and stimulated in ways they may not be expecting, challenging things they thought they knew about Black and African culture, as well as dance.
Stafford said audiences are also encouraged to be expressive in response to the art being performed by tapping their feet and dancing along.
“Our audiences, for over 50 years now, have been moving along with us,” Stafford said. “And so in this concert, we invite them to continue to do that in an active way. Certainly, you know, not necessarily traveling per se, but moving, allowing their spirits, allowing their minds, allowing their attention, as it’s being suspended, to really move with us, and to travel far with us.”
The AADC spring concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. April 18 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, with tickets on sale now on the theater’s website.
Following this performance will be IU Soul Revue’s spring concert later in April.
James Strong, director of Soul Revue, said the group is the oldest of the institute’s ensembles, having been founded in 1971. The ensemble aims to preserve and promote Black popular music through authentic live interpretation.
Strong said IU Soul Revue also has a strong focus on not only performing, but also learning about the historical context and importance of the songs they sing. Additionally, there is an emphasis on the authenticity of the group’s performance, so they put a lot of effort into capturing the sound of the original time period the songs are from.
“We go in and we actually explore the sounds,” Strong said. “You know, pay attention to the melody, harmony, rhythm, phrasing, while also adhering to standard practices in the industry, you know, reliability, accountability, research, practice, being on time.”
In addition to its singers, IU Soul Revue has marketing and promotions, wardrobe and technology and production departments, with an aim of giving students the opportunity to experience many aspects of the entertainment industry, Strong said.
At the ensemble’s spring concert, Strong said audiences can expect to hear R&B music from the 1960s all the way up to the 2000s, and he hopes it can take some audience members back to the time in their lives when these songs were first released.
“I hope that they will see the hard work that the students put in and appreciate that hard work and go on a journey,” Strong said. “‘Cause we’re gonna take you on a journey.”
IU Soul Revue’s spring concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. April 25 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, with tickets on sale now on the theater’s website.
The African American Choral Ensemble’s spring concert will close out the institute’s spring concert season at the beginning of May.
Raymond Wise, director of AACE and the executive director of the institute, said AACE started in 1975 from an outgrowth of IU Soul Revue. As the group grew in popularity, they did not have enough space for all the people interested in joining, so the choral ensemble was started as a place for these people to still be able to express their creative talents through performance.
Wise said a lot of students who join AACE are not music majors, so the course gives them a place where they can learn, improve vocal technique, perform and be a part of a community.
The ensemble’s spring concert will close out the celebration of the group’s 50th year.
This spring concert will cover a broad range of choral works including African spirituals, anthems, inspirational pieces and gospel pieces, Wise said. This year, AACE is focusing on music that has been a part of its 50-year history, taking the audience on a journey through the ensemble’s history.
Wise said audience members are encouraged to sing, dance and clap along so they can be a part of the celebration.
“We hope that they’re inspired,” Wise said. “There’s nothing like music in the arts, dance to inspire and encourage people, to know that there is hope that things can be better.”
AACE’s spring concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. May 2 at Ruth N. Halls Theatre, with tickets expected to go on sale in the coming week.
