Workshops showcase, teach dance styles from around world

Members of the IU African American Dance Company had been at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center since 8 a.m. Saturday, when the rest of campus slept.

The group was setting up for another day of their 13th-annual dance workshops.

Ten classes, ranging from modern Cuban dance to traditional African dance, were offered throughout Saturday. The dance company students were required to attend five throughout the weekend: two on Friday and three on Saturday.

Sophomore Janelle Lim’s said she participated in the workshops for the first time this year.

“Every time we come out of a class everyone’s like, ‘How was it?’” Lim said. “And we say, ‘Great, great!’ But we’re exhausted.”

People of all ages and backgrounds were welcomed to participate. Nine-year-old Nia Owens, who came from Indianapolis with her mother, Vanessa Owens, was one of the this year’s youngest dancers.

“We come every year,” said Owens. “It’s the best place to get a full plate of African dance.”

Reynaldo Gonzalez, a Cuban instructor of folkloric voice, dance and percussion, taught the traditional Afro Cuban class. The dance included the use of a skirt, which the girls wore as they danced from one end of the dance floor to the other.

“No, no, no, like this,” he said while he put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest for the dancers to see. “Like, I am the queen!”

The weekend came to a end Saturday night when, sweaty faced and smiling, all of the dancers, drummers and singers came together to put on a showcase of what they had learned throughout the day.

Just as Iris Rosa, African American and African diaspora studies professor and founder of the dance company wrapped up the night with a few words of thanks, Gonzalez snatched the microphone from her.

“I just have one question for you, Rosa,” he said. “Can I come back next year?”