1.  "Elegua (Elegba)"
Choreography: Kamille Bryant, Kia Bryant, Selena McKnight
Performers: Kamille Bryant, Kia Bryant, Selena McKnight
Music title / Composer / Arranger: Anonymous / Traditional / Ed East arr.

Elegua is the first "Orisha" (leader) in the pantheon of Afro-Cuban Santería (a religious belief system.) He is known as the keeper of the crossroads, the place where the earthly and the divine meet. No one reaches the other Orisha without him. He is the messenger. He removes obstacles and clears the way with his shepherd’s crook. He is childlike and a trickster. The children of Elegua dress in red and black.

 

2.  "Ogún"
Choreography: Yeniel Perez
Performer: Yeniel Perez
Music title / Composer / Arranger: Anonymous / Traditional / Ed East arr.

Ogún, the hunter, the farmer, the blacksmith, is the second "Orisha" (leader) in the pantheon of Afro Cuban Santería (a religious belief system.) Ogún's dance is vigorous, aggressive, and utilizes the machete as a symbol of his call to destroy whatever obstacle gets in the way of human progress. It is also a symbol of his power over iron and other metals.

 

3.  "Bullerengue"
Choreography: Karin Stein
Performers: Kamille Bryant, Kia Bryant, Selena McKnight.
Music title/Composer/Arranger: "Aguacero de Mayo" / Traditional

One of many variants of the Colombian "cumbia" is the "bullerengue." Some sources indicate that the “bullerengue” was performed to mark young girls' arrival at puberty. Other sources tell us that this dance was developed so that, during times of festivities, pregnant women and menstruating women who were not allowed to join the general celebrations, could still celebrate dancing together at home.

 

4.  "Capoeira"
Choreography: Improvisation
Performers: Capoeira dancers
Music title/Composer/Arranger: "Balança o Corpo" / "Capoeira naõ Cai" / "Marinheiro So"

Afro-Brazilians disguised their efforts to practice martial arts and ready themselves for battle by adding music and dance-like movements to their training. The “capoeira” is partly a game, partly a dance, and partly a martial art.

 

5.  "Parigol and Koy"
Choreography: Paulette Saint-Lot
Performers: Kamille Bryant, Kia Bryant
Music title / Composer / Arranger: Anonymous / Traditional / Paulette Saint-Lot arr.

This piece, (also known as Twarigol) comes from Haiti. It is an elegant dance which mirrors the temperament of “Papa Loko Atisou,” a prominent figure in the Voudou belief system, and borrows from secular traditions on the spirited Koy.

 

6.  "Guaguancó"
Choreography: Improvisations
Performers: Modei Akyea and Selena McKnight
Music title/Composer/Arranger: "Candela," / Jesús Alfonso

Candela is a "guaguancó", one of three styles of "rumba," Afro-Cuban dances in which the male dancer symbolically tries to mate with the female dancer by whimsical and imaginary means, while the female dancer attempts to foil his every attempt.

 

7.  "Oyá"
Choreography: Kamille Bryant, Kia Bryant, Selena McKnight
Performers: Kamille Bryant, Kia Bryant, Selena McKnight
Music title / Composer / Arranger: Anonymous / Traditional / Michael Spiro arr.

Oyá, another Orisha in the Santería pantheon, has power over tornados, hurricanes, shooting stars, and cemeteries. She is portrayed as a magnificent warrior and stirs the skies with a horsetail fan.

 

8.  "Festejo"
Choreography: Selena McKnight
Performers: Modei Akyea, Kamille Bryant, Kia Bryant, Selena McKnight, Geoffrey Spain
Music title/Composer/Arranger: Traditional

The “festejo” is a jovial style of dance which developed in Peru. Afro-Peruvian dances had all but disappeared and had to be recreated based on anecdotal and historical recollections.

 

9.  "Bomba"
Choreography: Improvisations
Performers: Yeniel Perez, Kia Bryant, Selena McKnight
Music title/Composer/Arranger: "Bombero," "Me le da memoria" / traditional / Ed East arr.

This is a "bomba" from Puerto Rico. The dance is characterized by the influence that the dancer's movements exert on the music. Lead drummer and dancer become one.

 

10.  "Tambor"
Choreography: Improvisations
Performers: Modei Akyea, Kamille Bryant, Kia Bryant, Selena McKnight, Geoffrey Spain.
Music title/Composer/Arranger: "Juana Polinaria"/traditional/Tambor Urbano & Ed East arr.

This is a popular dance from the coastal regions of Venezuela. Dancers "cut in," abruptly displacing other dancers in an effort to impress a desirable partner.

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