The following are choreographies for Christopher Newport University’s Annual Dance Concert
“Ancestral Journeys: Yemayá/Olokún’s Surfacing of Self” - Performed at Christopher Newport University, March 2023. Inspired by Cuban Yoruba embodied wisdom, we dance the divine forces of the surface and depths of the ocean representing life, self-love, perseverance, and that which lies in our depths. Performed and created in collaboration with Keyontaye Allison, Annalee Holstege, Jamie LaFever, Jessica Langhorne, Kimberlie Pagán. Costumes by Sarah Conte. Photos by Ben Leistensnider and Ryan Bible.
From where do we come? What are the stories of our ancestors? What are our own stories?
Yemayá, the Lucumí/Cuban Yoruba orisha (divine energy) who is syncretized with the Virgin Mary, is the divine mother. She is the ocean from which all life emerges and the water element for which life depends. She nurtures her children, and teaches self-love, perseverance, determination, and discipline. In the African diaspora, Yemayá is the abyss to which many succumbed during the Middle Passage, while simultaneously offering the potential for renewal, rebirth, and abundance. Olokún resides in the deepest fathoms of the ocean, an obscured and less accessed area of our world, our consciousness. In “Ancestral Journeys: Yemayá/Olokún’s Surfacing of Self,” we explore our individual/families’ histories and by looking back, by surfacing that which lies in the depths, inspired by and celebrating our own journeys of self-discovery and becoming, we dance and sing for these orishas in the Cuban Yoruba religious and folkloric tradition, across difference, in community and in relation.
“Gather Together: Strength from Within and Without” (March 2022, Peebles Theatre, CNU) - This piece is based in Cuban Lucumí dance and spiritual practices in which Eleguá opens the way to the spiritual realm for communication and support from the divine and our ancestors. Oyá (Taylor Hayes) enters as a central figure later in the piece. I additionally worked collaboratively with the students, directing them in improvisational group and solo work. Featuring the music of Ibeyi, Cuban French sister-artists whose work finds inspiration from their Lucumí heritage, with “Ash” and “Waves,” and “Elegbara Mo Feran O (fe Ro) - I Love You Esu, Warrior” by Ella Andall, Trinidadian artist whose work comes from the Yoruba-based religion of Shango, and who has inspired me since my early days of choreography within the Yoruba orisha tradition in the African Diaspora.
“Celebration, Struggle, Beauty, Blackness (A Work in Progress)” is a screendance I directed, shot, and edited and developed with Taylor Hayes and Tamiyah McClary, two senior dance minors who are featured performers/collaborators.
This work emerged from research of Black female students’ experiences at a predominantly white institution (PWI) from the “Raise the Volume” study conducted by CNU student Danielle Freeman and Dr. Danielle Stern, a colleague in the Dept. of Communication. Tamiyah and I worked on a first iteration of this dance Spring 2021 and then developed the piece further with the addition of Taylor in Fall 2021. We presented this version at the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender annual conference Fall 2021.
With students about to perform "Obatalá y Ochún" (2014)
When I arrived at Christopher Newport University, a small liberal arts state school growing exponentially over the past few years in Newport News, VA (known for being a ship building town), I was fulfilling a newly created position to develop the dance program in the Department of Theater and Dance -- to offer courses that might connect to the greater campus community and in particular, focus on a larger cultural component than the musical theater tradition of the department. I immediately developed a studio course in Afro-Caribbean folklore, specifically Cuban and Haitian, and began choreographing Afro-Caribbean folkloric pieces for the annual dance concert initiated by my colleague six years ago. Over the past four years I have also developed a modern class and a course that's half classroom and half studio focusing on the sacred dance traditions of the African Diaspora. I have had the opportunity to work with students across these various courses, throughout the year as we rehearse the choreography for the annual dance concert, and have begun to travel with students to perform both locally and nationally in venues in NYC.
These photos are from 2015 creation and performance of "Sacred Waters | Yemayá y Ochún" performed by Rhianan Banks, Victoria Banks, Natalie Buckley, Shu'Keia Donaldson, Eliza Eaton, Taylor Flowers, Sophie Gibbons, Alex Gutowski, Mary Lee, Emilio Marmol, Christina Martin, Kayla Noel, Quiera Nubie, John Pickard, Garret Roberts, Brianna Weiner, Madeline Wheeler. Percussion by guest artists Dale Paul Lazar & vocals by Jose Conde Lighting by students Cian Girven & Cheyenne Christopher
The following images are from "Obatalá y Ochún" performed March 20 & 21, 2014. Performed by Camille Carson, Jeannette Cortez, Shu'Keia Donaldson, Eliza Eaton, Alexandra Gutowski, Timilenin Idris, Kayla Jewette, Christina Martin, Kayla Noel, Giannina Otoya, John Pickard, Ashley Quarles, Manuel Ramirez, and Arthur Sigmund.
2013: "Afrofunk Groove" with Kelly Rossum on psychedelic trumpet and "Haitian Fight Song (Zepol & Petwo)" with Kelly Rossum's CNU Jazz Ensemble.
2012: This year was marked by two deaths of important teachers and performers in the Cuban and Haitian folkloric communities of New York City.
"Yanvalou: Bagay yo Kongole (Things Change)" was completed in the wake of the recent passing of artist and teacher Frisner Augustin, Ountògi master drummer of Haitian Vodou. This piece honored him and the voice he gave to the drum. Performed by Rodolphe "Neg Mawon” Pierre on percussion and vocals. Danced by: Monica Bonilla, Anastasia Brunk, Kayla Jewette, Anna Kern, Hillary King, EvaLynn Lott, Bridget Lundberg, Emily Mummert, Shaylyn Purcell, Claire Stringfellow, and Lauren Tapscott.
"Ritmo y Sabor Afro-Cubano" was created to honor my Afro-Cuban teacher Obbalubbe Felix “Pupy” Insua, who first taught me the patakín, or story, of Ogún and Ochún of the opening, and my friend and fellow dancer Allison “Bailerina” Notter, who both embraced and were embraced by the spirit of dance. The music was written and sung by Jose Conde with accompaniment by Rodolphe "Neg Mawon" Pierre.
