Step Afrika!

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Step Afrika!
April 3, 2020
Copeland Hall, 818 North Market Street, Wilmington, DE 19801
(302) 652-5577
Presented By:
Delaware Art Museum
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Delaware Art Museum brings Step Afrika! to Wilmington with their distinct blend of percussive tradition and African contemporary dance. The company's newest creation, "Drumfolk!", was inspired by the little known 1739 Stono Rebellion, an uprising of 20 enslaved Africans from Angola who used their drums to start a revolt in South Carolina. The rebellion was crushed; the Africans lost access to drums under The Negro Act of 1740, so they began to use their bodies as percussive instruments, earning  the name of "Drumfolk".  New percussive forms took root leading to the development of some of our country’s most distinct performance traditions like the ring shout, tap, hambone, and stepping. "Drumfolk!" takes the audience on a journey from the 17th century, when the African drum found itself in the then-colony of South Carolina to present-day America where the instrument has shaped new art forms like hip hop and African American social dance.
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