African American Dance Company breaks convention

The African American Dance Company mixed bongos, genre-bending music and various styles of dance at its annual Studio Concert at Willkie Auditorium Thursday.
Ensemble Director Iris Rosa said the evening focused on more than cool moves and aesthetic beauty.

“As a director, you have to be a multi-tasker,” she said. “You have to engage in other art forms and be informed about history, culture, art and music.”

Rosa, who started teaching at IU in 1974, said she seeks to express raw human emotion and experience in her choreography.

“I like to put things together on stage that speak to the human condition,” she said.

Rosa’s daughter, Claudia Rosa-Artis, videotaped the figures leaping and twirling across the stage from the back of the auditorium. Performers were barefoot and gleaming with perspiration, despite the 17 degree weather outdoors.

“Everything’s so different,” Rosa-Artis said. “I love how dancers adapt to the music. Most of the dances have stories behind them, and that’s what makes African Diaspora style so special.”

The evening’s first performance featured Rosa’s A221, Dance in the African Dispora class moving in unison to bass-heavy pop music.

“This dance was created in celebration of Ghana gaining independence,” Rosa said.

Junior Jonathan Tarver, dressed all in black to match fellow dancers on stage, said he was excited to show off what he learned in class.

“When I joined the program I thought it’d be pretty cool to learn about the history of dance and pick up some moves at the same time,” he said.

Although it was his first performance with the company, Tarver said he wasn’t nervous.
“It’s not too intense,” he said. “I just need to get used to the lights.”

Following Tarver and classmates were collaborative performances, featuring groups of three and four dancers. One group moved to entirely a capella tunes and sounds of blowing wind, while another collaboration featured four dancers showcasing different styles separately but twirling harmoniously in the end.

A third collaboration interpreted song lyrics literally as three performers tumbled to the stage floor during a song titled “Let Go.”

“All of the dancers come from different dance backgrounds and different dance experiences,” Rosa said. “We had to find a way to tie it all together.”

Graduate student Deara Ball said she has known Rosa since childhood and loves her showcase concerts.

“It’s really exciting to perform for people after we’ve been working really hard in the studio,” Ball said. “It’s unexpected. We’re an African American dance company and we do everything, so many styles. Most people don’t know that.”