Over one hundred people took to the dance floor Friday night at the Harmony School in Bloomington to celebrate “the 10th anniversary of “Soul Kitchen” on the air. The upbeat event offered funky soul music deejayed by William Morris and a dance class taught by Charles Sykes.
Morris, also known as Brother William, is the host of “Soul Kitchen,” a radio show on WFIU Public Radio. Along with playing music at the celebration, Morris said he also brought “Soul Kitchen energy” to the event.
“Soul Kitchen energy is an appreciation of the gifts that we get,” Morris said. “It’s a little bit of gratitude with a beat.”
On “Soul Kitchen,” Morris curates playlists of blues, soul, rock ‘n’ roll, jazz and more. The 10th anniversary celebration was no different. Front and center at the podium, Morris seamlessly switched between a variety of tunes, playing Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” one moment and “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars the next.
As more attendees trickled in, Sykes was at the front of the floor, leading a step-by-step dance class for the enthusiastic audience. Sykes, historian for the African American Arts Institute at IU Bloomington, guided the crowd through each move before setting the dance to music.
“[Music] is part of my soul. I grew up with music all the time,” Sykes said. “We would have dance parties in my house, so I had no choice but to love music and to love dancing.”
Sykes explained that, contrary to popular belief, music and dancing were not two separate entities, but one united.
“It’s all together,” he said. “You listen to the music, but you move; your body reacts to it.”
After half an hour of group dance, Sykes ended his instruction, and the crowd began to free dance, grooving to the tracks Morris selected.
Elderly couples embraced one another as they danced, a mother taught her daughter how to do the “Mashed Potato” dance and attendees lined up to get their photos taken at the photo booth with a WFIU backdrop.
Attendee Alan Blankstein, a regular listener of “Soul Kitchen,” was drawn to the event due to the focus on family and fun. Most of the night, Blankstein was dancing alongside his wife and a young child in a green dinosaur onesie.
“The first couple of songs when we walked in, we just walked in and started dancing,” Blankstein said. “It was a great time.”
As guests mingled in groups and grooved to the beat, Morris got on the microphone to introduce his wife, Sarah Phillips, and thanked her for her support. Morris beamed as the crowd gave his wife a round of applause.
“When I think of William, I just think of him as such a great unifier,” Phillips said. “He brings so many different kinds of people together with the music and with his personality. Tonight, there’s people of all shapes and sizes, all ages, all ethnic backgrounds, and they’ve all come to listen to the music.”
Uniting people through music and connecting to music is a central part of Morris’ life.
“Music is like therapy. I’m a lawyer full time, so when I get to come in [to the studio] and put the headphones on and it’s quiet, it’s like I am talking to my therapist,” Morris said. “The musicians are talking to me and I’m just sitting here listening to that music.”
“Soul Kitchen” airs 3-5 p.m. Fridays and 7-9 p.m. Saturdays on WFIU. More information about Morris and his radio show can be found on the “Soul Kitchen” website.
“You want to hear some tunes with a groove and music with a message,” Morris said, “then listen to the ‘Soul Kitchen.’”
