- Good evening, I'm Dr. Raymond Wise, and welcome to the 52nd annual spring concert, celebration of the
- legendary African American Dance Company. We're certainly glad to have you here. And while we're also
- celebrating the 52nd concert of the African American Dance Company, we're also celebrating the 50th
- anniversary of the African American Choral Ensemble. So what that means is that at this time,
- All three of the performing ensembles and the African American Art Institute have a 50-year legacy,
- and that's remarkable. I also want to acknowledge at this time our home, which is the Neal Marshall
- Black Culture Center, and we thank them for always being supportive. And as well, I'd like to thank
- and acknowledge
- our home department, our academic partner, the Department of African American and African American Studies,
- under which our ensembles are listed and are for credit courses. And they, too, are celebrating a milestone
- anniversary this year, and we're excited to be connected with them.
- The African-American Arts Institute, the Neil Marshall Black Culture Center, and the African-American
- and African-American studies department are all products of the vision of Dr. Herman C. Hudson, who
- believed that music and dance should have a place in the academy. And over 50 years ago, he saw a talented
- young student by the name of Iris Rosa. And he selected her to launch a legacy that we now know as the
- African-American Dance Company.
- The African-American Dance Company now under the direction of Professor Stafford C. Berry Jr. has been
- a precious jewel in the crown of IU, providing transformative artistic and academic excellence for hundreds
- of students and faculty and staff and our community. And tonight, they've prepared a fantastic program
- for you. So let us take a moment to thank them for their visionary work and commitment to maintaining
- this legacy of dance here at IU since 1974. Let's give them a round of applause.
- I also want to thank our new administrative unit, the College of Arts and Sciences, and their staff
- who supported us throughout this transition this year. And we're excited to continue the work that we're
- doing with them. And of course, the concert series would not be possible without the support of members
- from our community who believe in the arts and diversity, and that includes you. So we thank you for
- showing up and for coming out tonight. We are grateful that you are here as well. We want to thank,
- then, the Buskirk Chumley Theater staff, who's welcomed us and assisted in making this event a success
- tonight. And last but not least, we want
- I want to thank the African American Arts Institute staff. Special thanks to Jerrica Stocker,
- Johnny Campbell, and your teams who work so diligently always to make our concerts a reality and a success.
- Special thanks also to our production team, Mike Schwant, and Jeremy Hogan, and Laurie Garrity. We appreciate
- you as well. Now as we come together tonight, we do so at a time in our history when there are some
- who do not believe.
- that black music, dance, and culture are worthy to be celebrated and included. And as we face these
- challenges from many directions, we really need your help.
- We really need your help and support to maintain the legacy of the African-American Arts Institute and
- create sustainability for our future. And if we want black arts to continue here at IU, we've got to
- support it with our presence, with our advocacy, with our resources. And that said, we have several
- initiatives in the works that will allow you to help us continue our mission as we preserve and promote
- African-American and black culture through performance, education, creative activity, scholarship, and
- outreach. Now, April 22nd is what we call IU Day.
- which offers an opportunity for you to provide tangible support. So you're always encouraged to give
- a donation on that day. However, we do have a couple other things. We have an ongoing campaign called
- the Just One Campaign. And for those who cannot give a large amount, we invite you to make a small donation
- whenever possible. And know that even if we pull our small dollars together, it will really
- make a difference. So you can even go to the AAI website to make a donation. If you see on your program
- page 12, there's a place where you even can donate tonight.
- to do that as well. Before I leave, I'd like to announce also that we've got two more events this month.
- The IU Soul Review is going to present its annual spring concert on next Saturday here on April 25th
- at the Buskirk Chumlee Theater. And then the African American Choral Ensemble is going to present their
- spring concert the following Saturday on May the 2nd at the Ruth Ann Halls Theater on campus. And we
- invite you to come and join in those musical celebrations as well. Now, this is the moment where I have
- to kind of ask you, if you will, to
- If you have anything on you that emits light or sound, we ask that you kind of turn those things off.
- And that will be helpful for us. And we thank you for your cooperation in that regard. And finally,
- now dance has been a vital part of the experience of African-American people, the people of African-American
- descent. And it's helped them to tell their stories. And we're about to see and experience those stories tonight.
- So, ladies and gentlemen, we, without further ado, we're gonna give you the legendary African American
- Dance Company under the direction of Barbara Stafford C. Berry Jr. And we thank you for being here tonight,
- and we hope that you enjoy tonight's concert, which is entitled, Going Far Together. Enjoy.
- are going far going far going far we
- Far going. Far we. Far going. Far we are going through, through. Far we are beautiful people with colorful
- African imagination.
- with masks and dances and swelling chants and although we sometimes sprawl in grayed ghettos full of
- depressing winter what we desperately want
- What we desperately want to do, do, do. What we desperately want to do, do. What we desperately want
- is sun. We are beautiful people full of colorful African life, culture, folk, fabric, water, imagination, dirt. We
- are going far, and what we desperately want is sun. I am going to rise, unmasked from inner city, sick
- of New York ghettos, Chicago's tenements, LA's,
- I'm weary of exhausted lands and sagging privies saying yes sir, yes sir, yes sir, yes sir, yes sir,
- yes sir. In an assortment of geographical dialects, I have seen my last broken down plantation even
- from a distance. I packed up the old man and unpacked up the old lady and wiped the children's noses.
- I'm tired of having me down.
- Chuck me ups, pin me ins, keep me outs, messin' me ovas, baby, I have had it from you. I'm gonna spread
- out over America and intrude my proud blackness all over the place. I've wrested wheat fields from forests,
- turned rivers from their courses, festooned the land with bridges gem-like on filaments of steel, moved
- glistening towers of babel in place, sweated a whole civilization, and now I am going to breathe fire
- through flaming nostrils, burn a place for me and you,
- In the skyscrapers, in the school rooms, on the green lawns, and on the white beaches, I'm going to
- wear the robes and sit on the benches, make the rules, and make the arrests. Say, who can? And who can't,
- baby? You don't stand a chance. I'm going to put black angels in all the books and a black Christ child
- in Mary's arms. I'm going to make black bunnies, black fairies, black Santas,
- nursery rhymes and black ice cream. I'm going to make it a crime to be anything but.
- In 1974, we began. And in 1974, Professor Emerita Iris Rosa began. And from what we know, once you get started,
- When this comes out, you're going to listen to everything and every single word. And everybody's going
- to know when you get to the first show, after this drop, they're going to be singing right along and
- feeling every word. I'm excited for it. I'm excited for it, for you. This is going to be a good CD.
- This ain't a happenstance, oh, will. Our love is continual.
- you
- by sweat, when two or more are gathered. Nothing can be against us. Many in body, one mind, and body.
- We are here. Feet fixed to the rhythm of the dawn, our four foreign language, our hearts, one rhythm,
- In tune. We are in sync. This Marley has kissed blisters and torn flesh. We share pounding shin splits,
- weak knees, sore muscles, rolled ankles, backs pleading for mercy. Droplets pitter patter, identical bleeding
- If these walls could talk. They would imitate our laughs. They'd tear me in the room. But. What? If
- you squeeze those curtains tight enough. They'd cry our tears. Tell them girl, they cried our tears.
- Press playback on the mirror. They've recorded
- of energy across the earth. We are home. Our hearts beat the beat of the motherland. Our chants of huffs
- and puffs and unified breaths. With the touch of a heart, we still breathe. Many hands make work like
- hand of a different texture, color, beautiful, transformative rainbow, like extinctions of a tree, with
- each branch blooms interdependence, unconditional love, respect. Love first? Yes. You know what?
- Tell me, girl. Because we are earth.
- Right. Your first utilization is your initiation. Welcome to the family. You see him over there? Yes.
- That's my brother. Oh, you see her over there? Yes. They're my sisters. We are raised by the ancestors,
- moving parts of one village. Because we make unity
- Wherever we are. With whoever comes out of that audition. We are a quilt. And once each piece is intricately
- placed and sewn. Warmness and protection exude from its being. We exist. Together.
- Yeah.
- foreign
- Freon.
- When this comes out, you're going to listen to everything and every single word and everybody's going
- to know. When you get to the first show, after this drop, they're going to be singing right along and
- feeling every word. I'm excited for it. I'm excited for it for you. It's going to be good to see you
- again. This ain't a heaven stands or wind. Our love is continual. Continual.
- anyway
- How was that? Absolutely awesome. I see y'all, I hear y'all, I feel y'all, so give yourselves a round
- of applause. Yeah. We've been working hard all year, y'all, and, you know, we've all been working hard,
- have we not?
- All right, for those folks who don't know me, I'm Baba Stafford. I'm the director of the legendary African
- American Dance Company. And though I didn't say it in the beginning, I did a different kind of welcome,
- I'll say it officially right now, from me to you, welcome. So for those of you who are not familiar
- with what we do, here is a little taste, all right?
- We don't only and simply entertain. We like to share with you. We like to teach you some things. We'd
- like you to lead so that you can be with us as we go forward. Make sure you read the program. If not
- at the intermission, then when you're in the comfort of your own home or at, you know, Lenny's after
- the show, right? They have really good stromboli, by the way.
- Lenny, they didn't pay me to do this, but I love their veggie stromboli. If you're ever at Lenny's and
- you like stromboli, get their stromboli. You won't regret it, okay? You're welcome. So, you know, some
- of you don't know what we do, but I'm gonna do a really, really quick thing before we move forward.
- I'm getting the signal, but I wanna do one really quick thing. I want you all to stand up.
- Yup, uh-huh, you didn't expect this. I know, it's okay, we mean you no harm. And here's your simple
- but meaningful assignment to us, right? First of all, we wanna thank you for letting us know that you're
- here, right? Letting us know that we can feel you. Dr. Jacoby, what's going on? We see you, exactly.
- All my colleagues in AAADS, y'all here.
- Okay, Dr. Nana, I heard that. And Contemporary Dance is here, where y'all at? Are my new Jacobs colleagues
- here? Did y'all hear the T? We're moving to Jacobs in the fall, you know. We'll talk about that later.
- All right, but I would like you to introduce yourself to three people you never met. I'll give you time,
- ready, go.
- Don't be shy, come on folks, don't be shy.
- How do you do?
- So hopefully, there are no strangers in the room. Because we want you to continue with us as we go forward.
- Because the more you have with you, then the further you will go. So the further we will go if we have
- you with us. Are you with us?
- We thank you so much. We thank you so very much. Where are the AADC alumni? You're all out there. Okay,
- all right, y'all are in the house. Okay, there's Alexis, there's Brooklyn, there's Candace with a Y.
- Okay, I see y'all. There's Amelia, there's Hannah. We got a lot of alumni, y'all. But these folk, we
- couldn't do this without our alumni. They have been vigilant about coming back, about returning,
- about giving, about lending their hands.
- They even were helping us press our attire backstage, right? Young people don't use irons these days.
- So, you know, I had to call some alumni to teach them how to press their clothes. Our alumni are important,
- yes? Dr. Nana, you feel me, don't you? Okay, exactly. Oh, Mama Kim gave me some turmeric and lemonade,
- right, Mama Kim? For my voice. Oh, CMOS, I stand corrected. CMOS and turmeric, okay.
- We're gonna continue on, is that okay? All right, and as you read the programs and learn more about
- what we're up to, learn more about the African American and African Diaspora Studies program department,
- be sure you find us on our social media as well, the African American Dance Company. You can find us
- on all the platforms. For those of you who are my age, we're on Facebook as well.
- All right? So, you know, know that. We're gonna keep it moving. Are y'all ready? Here we go.
- It's your fault, Brooklyn. How was that? So I just want to remind you, for those folks who are new,
- for returning folks, you are aware of this, but I just want to remind us that this,
- Is this that you are experiencing, that you will read, that you will then go home to your families or
- to your loved ones or to your neighbor or to your pet and talk about? When you go on your social medias,
- because you will, right? You will, yes. Right? And you will comment and share it with somebody who needs
- to come see us, whether they're happy about it or not.
- This is a course at IU in African American and African Diaspora Studies. I've traveled lots of places
- across the country, and I haven't ever experienced a course like this. And so we're grateful.
- We're blessed here in Southern Indiana. We're blessed here in Bloomington, Indiana to have a resource
- like this in our home. We're blessed. You know, we may take these things for granted, right?
- the iconic IU Soul Review, the award-winning African American Choral Ensemble, and the legendary African
- American Dance Company, we are a course and a resource to this area of southern Indiana. That doesn't
- happen. Let's start with the Midwest. It don't happen, right? I'm from Philly. There's nothing like
- this in Philly. You're from Philly, who was that?
- Oh, is that Robert Burden? Oh, okay, all right. Okay, there we go. This is a resource here and you have
- access to this resource. You have access to this cultural resource. You have access to this community
- resource. You have access to this academic resource right here in Bloomington. That deserves celebration.
- And it also deserves your support.
- We cannot be unless you are here in your seats. We cannot be unless you are sending your students here
- to come and take these courses. We cannot be unless you are supporting us, right? Dr. Wise mentioned
- that dollar. Now, here's the thing. I want more than a dollar, right? A few more would be helpful, right?
- are here because you are here. That's Ubuntu. I am because you are. And because you are, I am, we are,
- we do. So keep being, yes? Keep doing, yes? Keep coming, yes? Keep donating, yes?
- Okay, I have a few people that I want to thank. I want to first thank you all because as I say, the
- first thing that you do in your support and your advocacy of any group that you want to really be there
- for is show up. Show up. Yeah, so thank you all very much for showing up. I want to thank a few other
- people. I want to thank our amazing tech crew.
- bring out some folks to thank. My brother, who was in Columbus, Ohio, every time I call on him, he comes.
- He's a triple threat. He's an actor. He's a singer. He's a wonderful performer. This is Kenny Eady.
- Thank you, Kenny. The way that we do the course, I couldn't do all of this by myself.
- But we have established roles of leadership in the courses. And so I want our student organization to
- come forward, all of our folks who are in the student org. Y'all come on out here. Quickly, quickly,
- move quickly, move quickly. Come on, Cam, move quickly. These are the leaders in our course.
- Thank you. Y'all might as well back up and stay on for now. Did y'all see Katherine? Katherine is new.
- Katherine came the first day and said, Papa, I don't know if I can. I was like, yes, you can. Yes,
- you can. Incidentally, most of the folks in this course and in this dance company are not dance majors.
- They're not.
- They're just people who are interested in learning about what we teach in these courses. I want to certainly
- invite out my seniors. Who are all of my seniors? Y'all come forward. I'm going to miss them when they
- graduate. Really quickly, where are you all studying?
- Contemporary dance. Contemporary dance. Psychology and contemporary dance. Psychology and contemporary
- dance. Did you see our seniors up here? Our seniors are wonderful. Thank you, seniors. I could not do
- this without my rocks. They are two women who are queens,
- They are two women who, whenever there's something to be done, they just do it. They don't wait to be
- asked. They know how to read my thoughts before I'm even thinking of the thing, and they're on it. They
- keep me supported, and I love them to pieces. They are Sister Ashley Hayes. Sister Ashley, is she indisposed
- right now?
- She's indisposed right now. She's probably working somewhere. But OK, then I'll get to them in a moment.
- But we also could not do what we do without all kinds of students. That includes grad students. So all
- my grad students come on out.
- Yes, we could not do it without our community members. We have folks who are staff. We have folks who
- are in the community. We have folks who just want to come and be with us. Y'all come on out here. Where's
- Frances? Though Frances is no slouch, Frances is an engineer. So she keeps my math together. OK,
- thank you, Frances.
- But now, my right hand, I could not do this without her. Let me check and see if they are ready. All right.
- My one strong staunch supporter, who's a grad student in AAADS, Ashley Hayes. I'll just say her name.
- It's important to say her name, Ashley Hayes. But then my other right hand, I should say, is my assistant
- instructor. This is Samantha Maccoby. And then,
- Where is Tolani? She's where? Tell Tolani to come from downstairs. Tell her to get up here.
- Where is Sydney? Oh, when I mentioned the community and the staff, okay, this is Mama Sydney. Mama Sydney,
- she's been named, is on faculty in fashion.
- Yeah, in fashion. She didn't expect this because I've been trying to get her to dance the entire time
- she's held this job as my road manager. This is Oluwatulani Adekoyo. Thank you, Tulani. Did I forget
- anybody? Samantha.
- Okay, we'll keep going. Once again, y'all can clear. Thank you, everybody. Once again, the legendary
- African American Dance Company.