From the dances of Yemaya and Elegua to Rumba and Salsa, the African American Dance Company will immerse in Cuban dance and culture during its stay in Santiago, Cuba.
Professor Rosa has primed her students for this experience; many of her choreographic works include Cuban dance and references to spirituality. While working with professional Cuban artists and companies, the dancers will deepen their understanding of dance of the black diaspora.
After 43 years as director of the IU African American Dance Company, Professor Iris Rosa’s dream of taking students to Cuba is coming true.
The company will travel to Santiago, Cuba, to participate in a weeklong international music and dance festival in July.
Read what Professor Rosa had to say about the trip:
Professor Rosa: The story behind why we are traveling to Cuba is because of the efforts of Milagros Ramirez, one of our Annual Dance Workshop professional practitioners. Over the years she really enjoyed the workshop, its focus, diasporic nature, and engagement. She thought it was very important to show what AADC has been doing at IU to the international dance community, particularly at the Festival del Caribe in Santiago.
For her to say AADC’s work needs to be presented at an international festival is affirmation that what we’re doing is significant. Through her efforts we received a letter of invitation from the Ministry of Culture to participate in the festival. This is a great way to be introduced to the artistic community of Santiago.
Professor Rosa: This year is the 37th annual festival. The international dance and music community will be there, including groups from Mexico, Jamaica, Haiti, and other countries. For the students to be exposed to an international community will be very educational.
The festival focuses on the cultural, historical, and social aspects of the performing arts as well as dance and music that is representative of Cuba overall. We’ll be experiencing dances from the eastern part of Cuba, like Son and Gaga, as well as some of the songs and dances of the Yoruba culture. Cuba also has a very strong contemporary modern dance presence. So, it will be a big mix of experiences through music and dance.
AADC will be performing “Anatomy of Freedom,” the four-part piece they performed at the Spring Concert. They will also take classes with professional Cuban dance companies every day. That’s going to be a very special collaboration. The students will be able to discern the vastness of dance in the Cuban culture. It really is a lifetime of study.
Professor Rosa: What I think they should gain is an appreciation for the opportunity to be able to connect with an international community and see how other places operate in the arts.
I especially want the students to see how the arts are so important to life. Here is America we have this notion that the arts aren’t a part of life. But then you interact with other communities and you see that the performing arts aren’t separate to our lives. When we dance, it is because we’re connected somehow spiritually, socially, culturally, historically, diasporically, and politically to that movement. Hopefully the students will see and understand how the arts are part of the diasporic community and cannot be separated.
I especially want the students to see how the arts are so important to life. Here is America we have this notion that the arts aren’t a part of life. But then you interact with other communities and you see that the performing arts aren’t separate to our lives.
They also need to learn tolerance. We live in a privileged society. Part of that tolerance is understanding people in third-world countries and the ways that they have to work without resources. When they come back, how can some of that understanding remain in their blood? The students will be able to look at life in a broader and wider spectrum outside of their own understanding.
Professor Rosa: Cuba was one of the countries I always wanted to take my students to because it’s my research area. My work in Cuba increased my vocabulary about dance and my ability to select and integrate movements from another black diasporic culture into the conversation about the black diaspora and the black dance aesthetic. For me it just expanded what I could do and the stories I could tell about black folks of the diaspora.
Cuba was one of the countries I always wanted to take my students to because it’s my research area.
This is a trip that I have not taken since the late 90s, so it does mean a lot to me taking my students to a place where I have done so much work. The students will be able to see what I’ve been doing when I’m not here at IU and how engaged I am with Cuban artists. They will be able to make those connections and expand their movement vocabularies and movement experiences.
I have to thank Dr. Wimbush, vice president for diversity, equity, and multicultural affairs, for his vision and understanding of why the African American Arts Institute must be internationalized. Support from Provost Lauren Robel, VP for International Affairs David Zaret, and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Larry Singel also affirms that they believe the AAAI ensembles are important to IU.
I retired on May 31, but this time before the next AADC director comes in was an opportunity to give another experience to the students. Then it will be the students’ responsibility to decide what they will do with this experience. Hopefully they will carry it with them throughout the years.
The African American Dance Company (AADC) will travel to Santiago, Cuba, to participate in the 37th annual Festival del Caribe, an international dance and music festival, on July 2–10, 2017.
Organized by returning AADC Annual Dance Workshop artist Milagros Ramirez, the dance company will spend the week taking classes with Cuban dance professionals and companies. They will immerse in a variety of dance and music genres—from Son and Mambo to Gaga and Yoruba cultural dances—as well as contemporary modern dance in Cuba.
AADC will also perform on the festival stage its spring concert 2017 piece titled “Anatomy of Freedom” (click to watch video excerpts of Anatomy of Freedom).
Accompanying the AADC students is Professor Iris Rosa, professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies Dr. Valerie Grim, professor of Contemporary Dance Dr. Nyama McCarthy-Brown, and AADC alumnae Vickie Casanova-Willis and Alex Long.
Stay tuned to follow the company’s experience in Cuba!
In just one week in Beijing and at the China University of Mining and Technology Beijing, the African American Dance Company experienced so many enlightening moments. A lecture demonstration for Chinese students, a drum master class and dance classes, a collaborative concert, and visits to the Forbidden City and the Great Wall were just some of the incredible opportunities the students had to immerse in Chinese culture and interact with their Chinese friends.
See some of our favorite moments in this video (https://youtu.be/ef1xHKOBXBI)
Indiana Daily Student is IU’s student-run newspaper.
Professor and director of the African American Dance Company Iris Rosa is strict about how her dancers wear their hair. Black-, white- and short-haired dancers alike get their hair braided in cornrows.
So when the dance company traveled to Beijing during winter break to explore China and perform and dance with students from the China University of Mining and Technology Beijing, one dancer from the AADC sat with some of the Chinese students and cornrowed their hair.
“That was such a beautiful moment of a cross-cultural experience,” Rosa said.
The AADC spent nearly a week in China from Dec. 16 to Dec. 23. This was the company’s first time abroad as a group in Rosa’s 43 years directing the them.
“To see my students actually perform in China at formal concert and the way they were accepted and to hear the applause was really very exciting,” Rosa said.
Inside IU Bloomington is a web publication sharing news with IU faculty, staff, and alumni.
While most IU students were heading home for winter break, students in IU’s African American Dance Company were boarding a 13-hour flight to Beijing.
The 14 students and four IU faculty engaged in a weeklong cultural exchange with the School of Law and Humanities at China University of Mining and Technology Beijing.
Among the week’s activities was a lecture demonstration for Chinese students and faculty, an African drum workshop for Chinese students, and a traditional Chinese dance class for the IU students. The IU group also visited the Forbidden City and Great Wall of China.
About 400 people attended a culminating concert performance featuring the African American Dance Company and China University of Mining and Technology Beijing dancers.
“Our concert was the true definition of cultural exchange,” said IU junior and theater major Ryan Malone. “We brought a new style and culture to hundreds of people in China who likely had never heard of or experienced an African-American aesthetic.”
Read the rest of the article here.
How time flies! AADC has been back more than a week already from our unprecedented trip to China. I have so many things to say, but it would probably take most of the blog. What I have learned from the moment that we were asked to represent our units during this remarkable trip is that perseverance and trust in the process is key. The idea began with an invitation from Prof. Yingli Zhou, a visiting scholar in AAADS from the China University of Mining and Technology Beijing (CUMTB). She and Dr. Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, Chair of African American and African Diaspora Studies, traveled to China in June to propose an intercultural exchange. Upon bringing back great news, we began preparations to make this trip a reality.
The thirteen-hour flight to China was suddenly a distant memory when we encountered a group of CUMTB students waiting patiently for our arrival. Qianqian Dong, AADC alumna and IU graduate student, had paired AADC and CUMTB students to facilitate the stay in Beijing. Little do people know the work it took for her to help coordinate our itinerary!
Dance is powerful, strong, and revolutionary. Although CUMTB is not focused on the arts, dance was a vehicle to bridge so many differences in culture and language. From the moment AADC took the stage during the lecture demonstration, our Chinese counterparts were immediately engaged in the progressions and protocol of a dance class. The “moving sculpture” broke the ice as both AADC and CUMTB students gathered in their groups to experience the free flowing movement. The link between students was established and then strengthened as the week progressed.
Partaking in a joint dance class with CUMTB students and learning a traditional Chinese dance were activities that bolstered connections between human beings sharing meaningful expressions. CUMTB students attended Andre Rosa-Artis’ djembe lecture demonstration and history lesson of the drum. I hope that both AADC and CUMTB students learned that the drum is just not an instrument of accompaniment, but also is an integral part of African and diaspora history.
I couldn’t wait for the shopping experience! Some went to the mall and others took the train to downtown Beijing to experience what cool fashion and handmade items were available. It was really fun to go to a local store and market to actually understand and gain knowledge of customary interactions of and by locals. The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square captivated our attention in many social, political, and cultural norms that were intertwined in history, both ancient and contemporary. The Great Wall of China was one wonder of the world that had a profound impression on me. Although I did not climb it due to not feeling well, the space surrounding me provoked visions of ancient times.
AADC’s formal concert performance at CUMTB made the biggest impact during our time in Beijing. Even though there were challenges with the stage area, the audience only saw the dances that AADC delivered through their movement and expression. What we may have thought did not get across as our message was loudly heard in its silence. CUMTB students were so proud to also perform their cultural dances at the concert. It was an honor to be selected and share our work half way across the world.
On our last day, all of the Chinese partners came to the hotel to bid us “goodbye.” Many tears and exchanges of little presents took place. The thirteen-hour flight to Chicago was overshadowed by all the memories of the week that sailed so rapidly. I came home with a viral infection, but it is almost gone now. This time at home has helped me reflect on the trip and plan the “AADC China brownbag talk” for next semester.
Would I do it again? Yep! There is just so much more to learn.
Iris Rosa
Director, African American Dance Company
Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies
Meeting my partner Fan Yun was life altering. He expressed very sensitive topics to me and helped me understand just a piece of his life. We learned that we are both very open-minded and aware that we completely express the emotions that we feel. Although we live very different lives, we still connected with one another—and that is why it was so hard to leave. I was very emotional when leaving China because I knew how some of the students could not express themselves fully due to their culture. It truly saddens me that some people do not have full control over their happiness. But I enjoyed every minute of China, and I cannot wait to go back.
— Savasia, Junior, Fashion Design
What an amazing first trip to China! It gives me great joy to know that the China students were just as excited to experience American cultural as we were to experience Chinese culture. I thought to myself, “How can they appreciate arts and culture as a force for good?” I was striving to be enriched, while seeking to reach out, touch, communicate, and bring the students together to experience the African diaspora. I had an “ah-ha” moment. I could braid their hair as a cultural exchange. The CUMTB students wanted to experience hair braiding. I gave them a history lesson on braids. I told them, “Hairstyles come and go, but braided hair is an ancient beauty technique, with a long and literally winding history that roams across countries, cultures, and centuries. In modern times, hairstyles aren’t so serious but one thing hasn’t changed: braids are cool.” I put one braid in each one of the students’ hair. They felt a little tenderness, pain, and tightness in the braid. But as time went on they became accustomed to the braid. They kept it the next day. They stated that the other students loved it, and they wanted a braid too. What a great exchange!
— Kim, Associate Director, IU Community and School Partnerships
My partner HJ was the best partner I could have had. I was worried that she would be shy, but she was the opposite. The day the students took us shopping was crazy, but HJ made sure that everyone was keeping up and was leading the way. She’s an English major, so her English speaking was really impressive. She helped translate some for me and the other students. Her personality is very inspiring to me, especially with her leadership skills. Her dancing abilities were off the charts as well. She had a strong presence, and I felt like her and I meshed well. I told her one day that I found her to be a “boss.” She didn’t really understand, but I explained that she was someone that got her work done and did it well. It was sad when AADC had to leave. I just wanted to take HJ back with me to the U.S. I honestly feel honored that she was my partner during the cultural exchange.
— Grace, Senior, Communications and Culture
My Chinese partner, Xia Xue, was not feeling too well the week we were in Beijing, so unfortunately she did not make it to many of the events with the other CUMTB students. I got to spend a little bit of time with her on Sunday after our lecture demonstration. We took the subway to a traditional Chinese market. She and one of her friends, Gloria, walked around with me to see the many souvenir and antique shops there. However, we were only able to connect via WeChat from that point on. For the rest of the trip, I mingled with some of the other dancers’ partners. I really connected with a girl who introduced herself as Andrea and Savasia’s partner, whom we all ended up calling “Swaggy.” I was able to learn a lot about the Chinese culture and CUMTB from them. They were also both just so sweet and open to discussing their lives and cultural experiences, which is why I think I enjoyed talking to them so much. My experience in China honestly wouldn’t have been nearly the same without them. Developing those friendships really helped me engage and immerse myself in the Chinese culture. They took me in, made me feel welcome, and almost like I was one of them. I never felt like a tourist or stranger when I was around them. I’m still shocked by how quickly I was able to bond with some of the students from CUMTB. I actually cried when it came to go. I am really going to miss them. Hopefully this is not the end of our cultural exchange. I really want them to be able to travel to the U.S. and gain exposure to our culture. I would love to have an opportunity to host them at IU!
— Jalyn, Freshman, Human Biology
I had two partners in China, Crystal and Jason. I met Crystal first when she welcomed me at the airport. Crystal was shy from the beginning, and we struggled to communicate. I spoke too quickly and talked about things she didn’t understand. I met Jason when we arrived at the hotel. I quickly realized he was outgoing and spoke more English. He was the president of the dance group, so that explained his personality. Both of my partners we very nice. Crystal just loved to be around me. We took a ton of selfies and mostly talked about school or dance. Jason was known by the whole group and was easy to get along with. I loved getting to know my partners and learning more about China through our conversations.
— Allison, Junior, Animal Behavior
This trip would not have been the same if I hadn’t met my CUMTB partner Zhang, or as he’s known by his English name, Bob. While we didn’t get to spend much time together, all of the times we did were wonderful. Whether it was hanging out at karaoke, learning how to play Mahjong, or discussing culture on the way to McDonald’s, Bob knew how to have a good time wherever he went. He’s genuinely a fun and funny guy! His present to me was a tile with a wanted poster of his favorite TV character he had designed. Knowing how much work he put into it and how much it meant to him makes it that much more valuable, and I will cherish it forever. Hopefully he enjoyed our time together and my present to him just as much!
— Ryan, Junior, Theatre
The first time I met Jingyao, she was super bubbly and excited to meet all the dancers. She came up to me after the lecture demonstration and wanted to take lots of pictures. Later that day she and some of her friends took us to the mall and then to a traditional Chinese street market. We went on the subway, and she held me by the arm the whole way so I wouldn’t get lost! She seemed so happy to show us around Beijing. Then at the tea ceremony she gave me a beautiful traditional purse, and we talked a lot about Chinese and American culture. It was so great to meet her and spend time with her. I will miss her so much!
— Ella, Freshman, Neuroscience
Having CUMTB student partners transformed our experience as a group. In my past experiences traveling with a group of people, our primary mode of processing our experiences was with the group. This would normally mean our interpretations were more insular or processed with an outsider’s perspective. On this trip, our primary mode of processing was with the Chinese students. This helped me process all these differences more immediately with a local person my age. It’s a lot harder to be uncomfortable in differences when you experience them through a local’s eyes. When the dance company did get moments to process together, we were mainly sharing stories that students had shared with us. From here on out, I think I might try to find someone to be my language/cultural partner if I travel. It’s so much better to travel not only to new places, but also to new people.
— AnnaRose, Second-year master’s student, Human Computer Interaction Design
The CUMTB students are absolutely amazing. They are all so attentive and willing to learn about social and political issues in the United States. Even though some words and phrases we used they didn’t know in English, they were patient enough to allow us to explain, and if that didn’t work, they were ready with a translator. I am especially thankful to be able to be paired up with Jason. He is an incredible person who is really kind and dedicated to his school work, which I admire so much. Although it was sometimes difficult to communicate, he made it work, and I’m so grateful for that because I would have been lost without him.
— Camille, Junior, Sociology and African American and African Diaspora Studies
The last day was very emotional. The night before we had gone out on the town to experience some nightlife with our newfound Chinese friends, so I had slept in a little later than usual. I woke up around 10 a.m., took a shower, and then started to pack—of course having more things than I had arrived with. I then went downstairs where all of our Chinese friends were waiting and exchanging gifts with their American counterparts. I saw some people tearing up and knew I was on the verge of the same. Even though I wanted to stay a little longer with my new friends, I knew it was time to go. We then embarked on a 12-hour flight, 5-hour bus ride, and then I finally arrived in Bloomington at 1 a.m. I found it very hard to sleep with the time change and all.
I am very appreciative of this opportunity I was given. It is easily the most memorable thing that has ever happened in my life. I hope to experience even more things like this down the road. But until then, I have my memories of China and my unforgettable trip to Beijing.
— Mikaela, Freshman, Musical Theatre
What do dancers do when they visit the Great Wall of China?
On our final evening, Ms. Yingli arranged for us to attend a tea ceremony and farewell dinner with our Chinese student partners. The tea ceremony itself was mesmerizing. The woman who performed the demonstration flourished her hands over the pots and cups as she described the process of making and serving tea. The entire ceremony was in Chinese, so although I’m not sure of her explanations, her elegant, stylized hand movements turned tea into art.
We then had the opportunity to just hang out with our partners—something we haven’t had a lot of time to do on such a busy trip. I sat with a few other dance company members as we tried our best to answer our Chinese friends’ questions about U.S. politics, history, and culture. Their questions were difficult to answer as I was struck by the complexity of the events, phenomenon, and the social structure of our daily lives.
I wasn’t prepared to explain what it’s like to be an American and have to synthesize all of these aspects of my life that I take for granted. I also felt that I had to reorient the way that I think about these facets of my life so that they could be accessible to students who don’t know a ton about what the U.S. is really like and are not native English speakers. I was challenged by their poignant questions and the ways in which they related our various American experiences to their own diverse Chinese experiences. The parallels and dissimilarities made for a very interesting and insightful evening. I’m so thankful to have had the chance to sit down and both listen and talk to these thoughtful and receptive students.
— Amelia, first-year Ph.D. student, African American and African Diaspora Studies
