NCA&T dance troupe offers master class March 15, performs March 16

8:01 p.m., March 8, 2006--The E. Gwynn Dance Company of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (NCA&T) State University in Greensboro, N.C., will hold a free master class and workshop at 2 p.m., Wednesday, March 15, in Mitchell Hall and perform in a concert, “Embracing Our Past,” at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 16, in the same location.

The dance troupe, which performs a variety of dance styles including jazz, modern, tap, ballet, Haitian, and African to audiences around the world, is led by Eleanor Gwynn, chairperson and dance program coordinator for the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at NCA&T.

The first part of the concert, “Footprints Across Africa,” will include: “Kuku,” a rhythm and dance used for celebration of harvest in the Bayla region of Guinea, West Africa, choreographed by Sherone Price; Doudounba, a warrior's dance that depicts strength in a man or woman, and Club Legacy, a fast-paced dance representing a fusion of jazz and traditional dance forms, both choreographed by Abdel Saleem; and The Gumboot dance, a predecessor of stepping, whose origins are the gold mines of Witwatersrand in South Africa, choreographed by Maxwell Rani.

The second part of the concert, “A Tribute To South Africa,” will include: “Max's Piece,” Rani's interpretation of the story of a woman in a South African township shanty, who offered herself to rapists to spare her young daughter and was then mistakenly stoned to death by miners who saw her running naked and thought she was a witch; “Robben Island,” inspired by letters from the women who were left behind in the townships when their husbands, brothers and fathers were incarcerated in Robben Island Prison, choreographed by Gwynn; Zulu men and women's dance, representing a fusion of traditional dances of the Xhosa and Zulu ethnic groups and modern South African dance forms, choreographed by Rani; and “Mandiani,” an energetic West African dance performed as a celebration of the initiation of young persons into adulthood, choreographed by Price.

The master class and workshop are free and open to the public. Tickets for the concert are $10 for the general public, $5 for seniors and UD faculty and staff. The concert is free for students with identification, but reservations are required. Students may pick up tickets at the Hartshorn Box Office or make telephone reservations at (302) 831-2204 to pick up the tickets at Mitchell Hall on the night of the performance.

Article by Martin Mbugua

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