PHILADANCO Mesmerizes for 150th Anniversary
posted by Nieema Williams | October 13, 2017 | In Arts and Culture, NewsOn Tuesday October 17, in honor of Fayetteville State University’s 150th anniversary the Philadelphia Dance Company, better known as PHILADANCO, graced the J.W. Seabrook stage, delivering four captivating performances dealing with art, life, love, racism, politics and redemption.
PHILADANCO was founded by Joan Myers Brown in 1970, and she currently serves as the executive artistic director. Myers created a place for black dancers to learn and grow in a time when African Americans were being systematically denied access to other local dance schools. Myers, a 2016 recipient of the National Medal for Art and Humanities has been creating and sharing her vision through dance education and performance.
The Philadelphia Dance Company is a nonprofit organization that helps to improve the skills of newly emerging, and professional dancers and choreographers while preserving predominantly African-American traditions in dance.
The most compelling piece of the night was “A Movement for Five,” choreographed by Dawn Marie Bazemore. This dance was inspired by the events that surrounded the Central Park Five case, in which the lives of five innocent young boys from Harlem in 1989 were ruined when they were convicted of rape, despite the DNA evidence indicating they did not do it. The five had the ruling vacated in 2002 when the real rapist came forward and confessed.
The five male dancers of the night; Jah’meek Williams, William Burden, Joe Gonzalez, Jameel Hendricks and Victor Lewis Jr. danced with so much passion and emotion that moved the crowd to a standing ovation.
There was an atmosphere of intelligence and appreciation for the arts this night followed by more outstanding displays of talent and storytelling that PHILADANCO, along with Fayetteville State University, gave to the student body.
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