(Denver, CO – 18 - 20 May, 2012) In collaboration with the legendary Artistic Director Dr. Charles Davis, internationally renowned Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble will bring DanceAfrica! back to Denver, May 18th – 20th 2012.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of DanceAfrica! Created in 1977 by Chuck Davis, it is the nation’s first festival devoted to African dance and has become one of the largest celebrations of its kind, uniting dancers the world over to celebrate the cultural vitality of Africa and its diaspora. Growing into the country’s largest annual celebration of African and African American dance and culture, DanceAfrica! now has dates in many cities, including Brooklyn; Chicago; Dallas; Los Angeles; Miami; Minneapolis; Philadelphia; Washington, DC; and for the second year, Denver. Dallas recently made the festival an annual event; Denver plans to do the same.

DanceAfrica! Denver 2012 will showcase performances by host Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, by students from the Denver School of the Arts, as well as by special guest companies Afriky Lolo, Giwayen Mata, and Capoeira Luanda from Bahia, Brazil. In addition, there will be an opening processional with drummers & dancers, workshops on Capoeira and Samba, an art exhibition of work from Bélize, and DanceAfrica!’s one-of-a-kind cultural bazaar.

The Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble will be performing Songs of The Disinherited, a 1973 masterpiece by the renowned choreographer Donald McKayle, which has been in the Ensemble’s repertoire for nearly 20 years (recently re-set on the company by his assistant Stephanie Powell). This work is a four part ballet that explores a journey to freedom: On My Way is about freedom in society, Up on the Mountain is about freedom from the bondage of slavery, Angelitos Negros (a solo performed to a beautiful piece sung entirely in Spanish) explores freedom from stereotypes, and Shaker Life expresses the freedom to feel joy and shout and dance.

For this year’s DanceAfrica! Ms. Robinson has set the excerpt Mournin’ Son from her 1973 signature work Spiritual Suite on a group of gifted students from the Denver School of the Arts, who will be performing it on opening night only. This is the first time Mournin’ Son has been set on student dancers. The central theme of this piece aligns with that of the great Katherine Dunham’s work Southland (which CPRDE is recreating and will perform in September at the Newman Center), as both works beautifully evoke the life experiences and sorrow of African slaves living in the south before emancipation.

Afriky Lolo from St. Louis, Missouri, will be performing The Goddess Zaouli, (2009) a traditional West African folktale adapted for the stage by Diadié Bathily, the company’s founder. This African fable, set to original and traditional African music and brought to life through dance and live drumming, tells the story of the Goddess Zaouli, her father Lion, her two suitors Snake and Bird, and her two friends, one of whom betrays her out of jealousy and leaves her to die after her suitors prove unworthy to marry her. The tale’s conclusion – wherein Zaouli’s revenging spirit, (intent on tormenting her betrayer) is calmed by her father’s love and forgiveness – captures the timeless themes of Compassion, Redemption, and the Power of Love.

Giwayen Mata, an all-women African Drumming and dancing troupe that hails from Atlanta, Georgia, will be bringing their traditional rhythms and original (or adapted) choreography to Denver, performing three pieces. Giwa Ly Ka Timi (Bambara) Giwa, with choreography and musical arrangement by Toshi Ayo Alston, fuses the sweet and bitter flavors associated with the African deity, Osun, with Didadi, the dance of the Bouganie village in Mali, West Africa, when sisters come together after a fasting period to drum and dance. Yokui, with choreography and musical arrangement by Amamansa Whitten, is a women’s dance from Guinea also known as Guinea Fare, that celebrates the grace, strength and light of femininity, honoring their “sheroes”. Finally, Kuku, one of Giwayen Mata’s signature pieces, is from the Susu people of Guinea. Originally done to celebrate a good harvest of fish by the women, it is now done for a variety of occasions. Choreography for this piece was created collaboratively by members of Giwayen Mata, with musical arrangement by co-founder Omelika Kuumba (with special thanks to Youssouf Koumbassa.)
Capoeira Luanda from Bahia, Brazil will deliver a riveting acrobatic performance that integrates African-Brazilian dance and movement from the lethal art form, Capoeira. Capoeira (Pronounced ka-poo-eyh-da) is an African-Brazilian martial art that incorporates acrobatics, dance, music, and songs in a rhythmic dialogue of body, mind, and spirit. It is a communal game in which two opponents play/compete with each other using capoeira movements, camouflaging the self-defense kicks and moves with playful acrobatics and dance-like moves, spontaneously creating strategy to fool their partner and catch them off guard. This takes place inside the roda (a circle) formed by the other players, who create rhythm for the game by clapping, singing and playing the berimbaus (African-Brazilian traditional instruments, considered the soul of Capoeira) and other key instruments.

The Capoeira Batizado, which literally means "baptism," was created by the great Mestre Bimba and first brought to the United States by Mestre Jelon in 1976. It is a moment of great significance for capoeiristas; an initiation rite for new students, an opportunity for advanced students to demonstrate their skills and pass to the next corda, (colored cord), and a time for Capoeira Masters to come together, share their spirit and reveal Capoeira's mystical and captivating essence, camaraderie and interplay. As part of the Batizado, students of all levels are invited to play/compete with various Capoeira Masters in an exhilarating and fun-filled game.

EVENT DATES / TIMES:
Friday, May 18 - 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 19 (two shows) - 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm
Sunday, May 20 - 2:00 pm

VENUE:
Kay Schomp Theater at the Denver School of the Arts
7111 Montview Blvd.
Denver, Colorado 80220

TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets can be purchased online at www.CleoParkerDance.org or through the theatre box office at 303-295-1759, ext. 13.

PRICING:
MAIN FLOOR - GENERAL ADMISSION
Adults $38.00 each
Children, students, seniors (62+) $35.00 each
Groups of 8 or more $33.00 each

BALCONY FLOOR - GENERAL ADMISSION
All seating is $33.00 each

+++

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, formed in 1970 and now celebrating its 41st season, is one of Denver’s most cherished cultural resources. Each year, the organization serves 40,000 patrons through performances and educational programs. In addition to operating a world-class modern repertory company, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance operates on the belief that everyone can dance. In the year-round school, people of every age, culture, ethnicity, and level of technique, gather to learn ballet, modern, jazz, tap, West African, hip hop, and Zumba. During the summer, master teachers and students from around the world participate in the International Summer Dance Institute, a four-week intensive program for dancers of all skill levels. AYE, the after school youth cultural literacy and leadership program, encourages “youth at promise” in math, literacy, and arts skills. www.cleoparkerdance.com

Cleo Parker Robinson is Founder, Executive Artistic Director and Choreographer. Mentored by both Rita Berger and the legendary Katherine Dunham, Parker Robinson became a pioneer of artistic and cultural diversity throughout the United States. As a master teacher/choreographer and iconic cultural ambassador she has taught and performed with her Ensemble worldwide, including the four regions of Africa, and numerous European countries. Ms. Parker Robinson is the recipient of the Colorado’s Governor’s Award for Excellence, Denver’s Mayor’s Award, the King M. Trimble Community Award for service to the Denver community and a Kennedy Center Medal of Honor during the Center’s “Masters of African American Choreographers” just to name a few. She has been inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame, Blacks in Colorado Hall of Fame and is recognized in Who’s Who in America Colleges and Universities. Ms. Parker Robinson has received honorary doctorates from Denver University, Colorado College and recently received an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Regis University in Denver. She continues to be the recipient of honors and awards from civic, community, and artistic organizations around the world.

About Capoeira Luanda:
Capoeira Luanda was born from the union of capoeiristas from different times and experiences, with the effective participation of all professors, instructors and graduates of Mestre Jelon. Capoeira Luanda was founded on April 6th, 2007, after a long process of research and study under the direction and guidance of Mestre Jelon.

Mestre Jelon Vieira is the Founder and Artistic Director of Capoeira Foundation and DanceBrazil. He has earned much acclaim as a broadly talented choreographer, and a world renowned master and teacher of capoeira. Born in Bahia, Brazil, Mr. Vieira studied capoeira with the famous Mestres Bimba, Eziquiel, and Bobo. Since his arrival in the US in 1975, Mr. Vieira has catalyzed the growing interest in and understanding of Brazilian culture while simultaneously developing his own choreographic style that blends tradition Afro-Brazilian dance and North American modern dance. In 1976 he formed the Capoeiras of Bahia with Loremil Machado. Then, in 1977, Mr. Vieira founded DanceBrazil, and for the last 20 years has guided the company through breathtaking performances of capoeira and Afro-Brazilian dance.
(Note: CPRDE is contractually obligated that that name “DanceBrazil” not appear in connection with DanceAfrica! 2012, even though it is many of the same people – thanks!)

About Afriky Lolo:
Afriky Lolo, founded in 2003 and led by Diádié Bathily, is a non-profit corporation committed to bringing West African dance and culture to the St. Louis, Missouri, community through teaching and performing. The Company has 75 dancers ranging in age from 6 to over 60, as well as 8 drummers. Afriky Lolo (which means African Star) performances are choreographed, staged, costumed, and directed by Diádié Bathily to reflect the rich culture of West Africa, and each dance is enhanced by traditional West African costumes. As costuming is a very important aspect of traditional West African dance, Bathily travels frequently to the Cote d’Ivoire and Mali in order to obtain authentic West African cloth, beads, and masks for the costumes worn by the dancers and drummers. All costumes are sewn by Bathily and/or specialists in West Africa.

Afriky Lolo continues to grow its public recognition, its teaching opportunities and its performance opportunities. The company is offering its educational program under the Afriky Lolo name to more schools in 2007 – 2008, and is increasing the number of performances and workshops it can offer to the community. Bathily has seen African American children inspired by their heritage, excited by the opportunity to participate in this dancing, and even reporting more interest and energy in school as a result. http://afrikylolo.org

Diádié Bathily is a Master dancer from the Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa. He immigrated to the United States in 1998. He has a strong personal and professional desire to share the beauty, culture and passion of West African dance with Americans, especially African Americans.
He has danced professionally for over 30 years and has performed professionally for Marie-Rose Guiraud’s Les Guirivoires, Adama Drame, Wara Danse (his company in the Cote d’Ivoire), and Diádié Bathily Dance (in the United States). Bathily is an experienced teacher who specializes in traditional dances from Mali, the Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Ghana. He teaches and performs in St. Louis elementary and secondary schools and at local universities, colleges, and dance studios throughout the Midwest. Throughout the school year, Bathily teaches and gives workshops at local elementary and secondary public schools, at Washington University and at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. Bathily also choreographs original pieces for university dance companies.

About Giwayen Mata:
Giwayen Mata is a Hausa term that means, “Elephant Women”. It is a title given to women who are leaders of women’s organizations. Founded in 1993, Giwayen Mata’s mission is to “celebrate the lives of women and uplift our communities and our planet, while perpetuating the cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora through the study, creation, teaching, and presentation of artistic media including dances, rhythms, songs, poetry, and prose around the world.” Giwayen Mata has been wowing audiences and students of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds with drum and dance classes, workshops, and performances that are entertaining, energetic, thought provoking, empowering, interactive and educational. Individual members of the ensemble have performed and taught in Bermuda, Germany, Ghana, Haiti, and England. Audiences are often moved to their feet and people speak enthusiastically about how their experiences with the ensemble go beyond movement, sight, and sound.

Giwayen Mata has been a proud part of the DanceAfrica series since 2008, having performed in DanceAfrica at Brooklyn Academy of Music in NY, Du Sable Museum and Harris Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, and Majestic Theatre in Dallas, Texas that year. Giwayen Mata performed in Dallas again in 2009 and 2011 and in DanceAfrica Atlanta in 2011. The ensemble is excited and grateful to Dr. Chuck Davis and Cleo Parker Robinson to be included in the 2012 lineup in Denver Colorado. In 2013 Giwayen Mata will host DanceAfrica Atlanta in conjunction with the company’s 20th anniversary. In giving Giwayen Mata its first of three Creative Loafing Best of Atlanta Awards for Best World Music Group, critic Roni Sarig wrote, “to call this all female group a band is an understatement. They are more like an event.” www.giwayenmata.org

Eyes on Africa Week 2012

4th Annual Genocide Prevention Conference

Remembering Rwanda

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Christian Davenport

African Forum: Talking Africa in America

St. Cajetan's - April 5th 9am-4pm

African Culture Night

St. Cajetan's - April 6th 6pm-11pm

In July 2011 after two decades of conflict often characterized as genocide, the Sudan was divided into two nations:  the Sudan and the South Sudan.  At this public forum members of Denver's Sudanese and South Sudanese community who recently visited their nation will present an update on the nation building process as well as some of the continued conflict in that region despite the peace agreement.

Speakers:  Rev. Dr. Oja Garfour is from the Nuba Mt. region and is assigned to the Sudanese Community Church at St. John’s Cathedral;

George Tuto, from the Nuba Mt. region came to this country as a refugee 10 years ago.  He recently returned from a 3 month humanitarian trip to the South Sudan and Uganda;

Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail, the Episcopal Bishop of Kadugli whose church was destroyed and had to seek asylum.  He has testified at the United Nations and briefed U.S. Congressional committees;

Lawrence Wongo, PhD, specializes in agricultural economics and taught in Kenya for 18 years.  In 2008 he came to Denver as a refugee and is working on an oral history project about the Lost Girls of Sudan;

Anita Sanborn will moderate the discussion.  She is the President of the Colorado Episcopal Foundation and is very involved with Colorado’s Sudanese community.  A founder of the Leadership Institute of New Sudan, she has spent much time in the Sudan and South Sudan as well as the Darfur region and the nation of Chad.

$5 suggested donation.
Co-sponsors:  Colorado Committee on Africa and the Caribbean and the Center for Service Learning at Regis University.
For more information:  (303) 329-5881

Please visit our website.

The first annual Climb for Sudan benefit will be held on September 9th, 2011. The event, which  marks the end of Joe Rogers and Nick Spivey's climb of Colorado's 58 fourteeners in 70 days aims to raise money for the people of South Sudan through Project Education Sudan.

The African Festival will be on July 31, 2011 from 12 to 8pm at Infinity Park in Glendale, CO. There will be kids games, food, music, fashion show and more! For more information call 720.364.2002 or email Africanfest2011@gmail.com

Educate!’s 3rd Annual Hike for Africa:
Joining Forces Across Continents

Saturday, August 27, 2011 at Green Mountain in Boulder

WHAT: Educate!’s 3rd Annual Hike for Africa celebrates the powerful
connection between Educate!’s U.S. supporters and its Ugandan students
as participants in Boulder and Kamapla, Uganda will trek to the top of
a peak, symbolizing the common goal of empowering the next generation
of socially responsible leaders. The money raised will go directly to
support education programs in Africa and empower Educate!’s 1,400
students in Uganda to transform their communities.

WHEN: Saturday, August 27, 2011, 8:30 am (registration begins at 8:30
am, hike begins at 9:45 am).

WHERE: Flagstaff Mountain to Green Mountain and back. Family-friendly
hike with a two-mile option or challenging four-mile option.

COST: $15 Pre-sale and $20 after August 1st. Free for kids 12 and
under. Pre-registration necessary.

REGISTER: http://www.experienceeducate.org/hike-for-africa

MORE INFORMATION: Feel free to join us just for breakfast and live
music, or come to hike too! Socialize with fellow Colorado supporters,
hear updates about Educate! students’ work in Uganda, and enjoy live
music by Lost Angel Station. There will be coffee, snacks and
refreshments, as well as facepainting and coloring for kids. Dogs
welcome but must be leashed at all times! We’re going Green this year
so please bring your water bottles!

SPONSORS: Vic’s Espresso, Honest Tea, Eldorado Spring Water, Lost Angel Station.

ABOUT EDUCATE!:
Educate! unlocks the potential of African youth to solve the greatest
challenges facing their communities. Our model is exponential
empowerment – investing long-term in youth so they can positively
impact many others. Educate! provides a proven mix of a social
entrepreneurship and leadership course, long term mentoring, and an
alumni program that helps high school students start enterprises.
Today, Educate! is working with 1,400 diverse youth across Uganda and
developing a model that can be replicated across Africa.

The MP is currently touring the United States and Europe in a bid to present his economic message to Cameroonians and Africans in the Diaspora. Participants at this event would be introduced to Mr. Ekindi’s plan for jobs for Cameroonians, increased international trade and development for Cameroon with other nations.  The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, please email Office@AfricaAgenda.org or call 303-341-1301

A press statement and a bio of Honorable Ekindi is available at www.AfricaAgenda.org

You are cordially invited to share the joy of celebrating the birth of the new nation to be known as (The Republic of South Sudan) on Saturday July 9^th, 2011. This day is the culmination of over 50 years of struggle for freedom; the freedom that caused millions of human lives.

Where: Highlands Masonic Temple

3550 N. Federal Blvd.

Denver, CO 80211.

(North-east of 35^th Ave and Federal Blvd)

When: Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 6:00pm-12:00 midnight

What to expect: Cultural dances, Speakers, Music, etc.

**Please contact Gatwec Dengpathot @ 303-264-7637, gattungdey@gmail.com for any question**

ACC's 10th Anniversary Open House and Reception
WHEN: Friday, July 8 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM
WHERE: African Community Center - 5250 Leetsdale Dr, Denver, CO 80246 (Upstairs from Key Bank)

Tue, Mar 15th
KHAIRA ARBY & THE SWAY MACHINERY
w/ Pink Hawks
at Hi-Dive
Doors at 8:00 PM
Show at 9:00 PM
18+ $15.00

Malians love her. Khaïra Arby was born in the village of Abaradjou in the Sahara Desert north of Timbuktu. Khaira’s parents came from different ethnic backgrounds, mother Songhai and father Berber. You can hear these cultures in her music; she sings in several languages. The instrumentation and rhythms are just as varied with electric guitar and bass, calabash, ngoni, traditional violin, and percussion creating a complex mixture of sound and structure. Some people compare the effect to the rhythms of the camel caravans crossing the Sahara, others to the cosmopolitan city of Timbuktu.

To no one’s surprise, Khaïra won her first singing contest while just a schoolgirl and was chosen to represent Mali internationally. Not being from a musical family, her father discouraged her continuing her career and she married. But after 10 years of marriage Khaira divorced and returned to Timbuktu and her musical interests. By her mid twenties, Khaïra had made her first recording with the Orchestre Regional de Tombouctou and after a short time was invited to sing with the famous Orchestre Badema in Bamako, the nation’s capitol. She continued to earn her stripes beside such Malian stars as her cousin, Ali Farka Touré and the widely influential Fissa Maïga. Since 1990 Khaïra has focused all her energies on her music. With three albums in her own name and a fourth recently released in August 2010 she is the Voice of Mali’s North.

Khaïra sings in many desert traditions and her music takes the listener on an audio journey across the essence of Mali and Tombouctou, a meeting of compass points, religions, cultures, past and present. She sings praise songs, blues songs, religious songs, songs about love, war and peace, family and the lives of women. She expresses her pride in the history and struggles of her desert homeland and its people. Khaïra still lives in Timbuktu with her family. She performs at concerts and festivals throughout Mali. She has appeared at the mythic Festival in the Desert annually since its beginning in 2001 and at several editions of the Festival on the Niger River in Segou.

In 2006 she was named a Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mali. In August 2010, Khaïra and her band toured the United States and Canada performing to rave reviews at venues ranging from small Harlem nightclubs to the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. This tour coincided with the international release of her latest album, Timbuktu Tarab, which has been critically hailed as one of the best new albums of 2010.

http://www.hi-dive.com/show/detail/39606#tickets