South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center And Culture Shock Miami Present STEP AFRIKA! In New Show Of Step Dancing
Miami, Florida (PRWEB) January 17, 2016 -- South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center and Culture Shock Miami copresent STEP AFRIKA!, the first professional company in the world dedicated to the tradition of stepping, on Saturday, February 13, 2016 at 8 PM at South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center on Main Stage.
STEP AFRIKA! returns for its second appearance at South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center. STEP AFRIKA! showcases the unique art form of “stepping,” which transforms the human body into a unique organic percussion instrument and simultaneously becomes a visual delight of rhythmic movement. Returning to South Florida, STEP AFRIKA! has been compared to tap dance without shoes, or a band without instruments, using kicks, stomps, claps and chants – all linked to African and modern dance traditions. As the first professional company devoted to stepping, world–renowned STEP AFRIKA! brings high-energy performance to the SMDCAC stage: a feast for both the eyes and ears.
Watch the STEP AFRIKA! promotional video: https://youtu.be/FRecTnZ9vac
“Electrifying talents! It is jazz, funk, rhythm and blues, and rap without instruments. Stepping is lean and mean,” said the Washington Post.
STEP AFRIKA! promotes an appreciation for stepping and its use as an educational, motivational and healthy tool for young people. They accomplish this mission through arts education activities, international cultural exchange programs and performances world-wide.
Because of its universal appeal, it was deemed a perfect collaboration for SMDCAC and Culture Shock Miami.
$5 tickets for ages 13-22 exclusively at CultureShockMiami.com. Full price Tickets through SMDCAC.org: $25
Weekend Dance Workshop with members of STEP AFRIKA! (FREE)
Saturday, February 13, 2016
11 AM to 12:30 PM
South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center
(Recommended for ages 10 through adult; open to all levels of dance. Tickets are free. Reservations for all weekend workshops and master classes are available two weeks before the scheduled event. Tickets must be reserved through the SMDCAC website (http://www.smdcac.org) or by calling the Box Office at 786-573-5300.)
ABOUT STEP AFRIKA!
Founded in December 1994 by C. Brian Williams, the Washington, D.C. based company is celebrated worldwide for its efforts to promote an appreciation for stepping and the dance tradition’s use as an educational tool for young people. Stepping is without question a rising art form and an important part of America’s artistic and cultural heritage.
Over the past 20 years STEP AFRIKA! has grown to become one of the top 10 African American Dance Companies in the US and Washington DC’s largest African American arts organization. STEP AFRIKA! began as an exchange program with the Soweto Dance Theatre of Johannesburg, South Africa, and has expanded to become a national and international touring company presenting performance, residencies and workshops worldwide.
STEP AFRIKA! gets people moving – towards college, towards a greater appreciation for the arts and towards a better understanding of each other.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
C. BRIAN WILLIAMS is a native of Houston, Texas, and a graduate of Howard University. He learned to step as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. – Beta Chapter and launched the historic Step Afrika! International Cultural Festival in partnership with the Soweto Dance Theater in December of 1994.
Williams has performed, lectured and taught all over the world. He has been cited as a “Nation Builder” by the National Black Caucus of State Legislators; one of Washington, DC’s “arts innovators” by Washingtonian Magazine; and earned the Pola Nirenska Award for Contemporary Achievement in Dance. Williams is the recipient of an Artist Fellowship, numerous awards from the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities and the Mayor’s Art Award for Innovation in the Arts. He is featured in Soulstepping: African American Step Shows, the first book to document the history of stepping. Under Brian’s leadership, stepping has evolved into one of America’s newest cultural exports and inspired the designation of Step Afrika! as “Washington, DC’s official Cultural Ambassador.”
ABOUT CULTURE SHOCK MIAMI ( http://www.CULTURESHOCKMIAMI.COM )
CultureShockMiami.com, a program of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, provides an affordable and attractive way to encourage high school and college students ages 13-22 to buy tickets to the rich variety of cultural events. The program is designed to introduce this next generation of audience members to live arts and cultural experiences at the age when they are beginning to make their own decisions about entertainment options. Based on research that shows most people begin their appreciation for the arts at a young age, CultureShockMiami.com is founded on the premise that when kids make the arts a regular entertainment choice, they are more likely to become the full-price ticket buyers and subscribers of the future.
CultureShockMiami.com’s Program Partners include African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, Miami-Dade County Auditorium, South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, TicketWeb.com, the Miami-Dade County Public School System, local arts organizations, and area colleges and universities.
Throughout the year, many Miami-Dade museums and cultural sites make two-for-$5 admission passes available to CultureShockMiami.com visitors. They include The Wolfsonian, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science, Perez Art Museum Miami, HistoryMiami, ZooMiami, Bass Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, and many more.
Culture Shock Miami was inaugurated in 2005-06 by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, with a generous grant from The John S. & James L. Knight Foundation. Since then, it has sold over 60,000 tickets through its website http://www.CultureShockMiami.com. A core group of arts organizations participate regularly in the program, including Actors' Playhouse, Adrienne Arsht Center, Cleveland Orchestra Miami, Dranoff 2 Piano Foundation, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet, New World Symphony, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, and ZooMiami. The Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council develop cultural excellence, diversity and participation throughout Miami-Dade County by strategically creating and promoting opportunities for artists and cultural organizations, and our residents and visitors who are their audiences. The Department directs the Art in Public Places program and serves its board, the Art in Public Places Trust, commissioning, curating, maintaining and promoting the County’s art collection. The Department also manages, programs and operates the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, a campus of state-of-the-art cultural facilities in Cutler Bay, as well as Miami-Dade County Auditorium, Joseph Caleb Auditorium and the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, all dedicated to presenting and supporting excellence in the arts for the entire community. Through staff, board and programmatic resources, the Department, the Council and the Trust promote, coordinate and support Miami-Dade County’s more than 1,000 not-for-profit cultural organizations as well as thousands of resident artists through grants, technical assistance, public information and interactive community planning. The Department receives funding through the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, The Children’s Trust, the National Endowment for the Arts, the State of Florida through the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Other support and services are provided by TicketWeb for the Culture Shock Miami program, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, the South Florida Cultural Consortium and the Tourist Development Council.
ABOUT SOUTH MIAMI-DADE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER
The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, designed by an internationally-acclaimed design team that includes Arquitectonica International, Inc. (architects), Fisher Dachs Associates, Inc. (theater design), Artec Consultants, Inc. (acoustics), and AMS Planning & Research Corp. (theater management), provides, for the first time, a state-of-the-art cultural venue and community gathering place in the southern part of Miami-Dade County. Located at 10950 SW 211th Street in Cutler Bay, the Center is an integral part of the economic and cultural development of the area, offering quality artistic programming and community accessibility. The Center features prominent works of art created by Miami artist Robert Chambers who was commissioned by Miami-Dade County’s Art in Public Places program to design a kinetic light wall and sculptures for the theater.
The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center is managed by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, with funding support from the Office of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. The Center is dedicated to presenting and supporting arts and culture and providing access to the arts to the entire Miami-Dade County community. More information about the Center and its programs can be found at http://www.smdcac.org.
Stephen Belth, Arts Marketing Network, http://artsmarketing.net, +1 (516) 359-2548, [email protected]
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