Buskirk to host African American Dance Co.

There’s an old African proverb that says “when the music changes, so does the dance.”\nConsidering the repertoire of styles, influences and techniques employed by the African American Dance Company for Friday’s spring concert, that proverb will ring true many times before the curtain falls at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.\nThe performance, as well as the class that coincides with it, draws much of its inspiration from the unique cultures created in Latin America and the Caribbean as a result of African immigration, also known as the African Diaspora, said Iris Rosa, director of the African American Dance Company and professor in African Diaspora Studies.\n“The African Diaspora includes Latin traditions and other things that people might not associate with African history,” said Deara Ball, a first-year graduate student and fifth-year member of the African American Dance Company. “(The concert) is a culturally rich experience ... it focuses on the traditional with the new.” \nThis blend of both modern and more traditional dance styles is where Rosa feels most comfortable. \n“It allows me to use a wider vocabulary in my choreography,” she said. “In one piece I may be expressing something like the history of the Caribbean, and you may hear Caribbean music, and see jazz and see modern dancing.”\nRosa said her passion for diverse dance arrangements compels her to challenge the preconceived notions held by some about what African-American dancing should be. \n“People often think of hip-hop when they think of the African American Dance Company, but we use a very wide range of dance styles,” she said. “The dancers all come from very different backgrounds; some are trained in ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and we pull all of that together to create the performance.”\nMeghan McGuire, a graduate student in her second year with the dance company, sees this assimilation of styles as one of the most exciting aspects of the performance. \n“We’re able to come together and put on these pieces that convey so much feeling and so many different styles and techniques. It becomes this beautiful fusion, and I really haven’t seen any other dance ensembles do this before,” McGuire said.\nShe also draws attention to the importance of narrative in the performance. \n“The pieces that we dance tell stories and have more emotion than most other dance pieces,” she said.\nThe performance begins at 8 p.m. Friday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Tickets purchased in advance are $15 for adults, $10 for children and IU students, and they are available at the Sunrise Box Office. \nFor those needing further persuasion, Ball summarizes the concert’s aim simply: “It’s a cultural lesson, it’s entertainment and there’s lots of great music.”\nThose who are still on the fence about attending might want to remember another old African proverb: “Those who are absent are always wrong.”