ABOUT THE PROJECT
Dance Afrikana presents Kuumba: A Celebration of Afro-Dance is a dance presentation that celebrates Kwanzaa through one of its seven principles called Kuumba. Kuumba is Kiswahili for creativity and its purpose is to leave the community “more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.” The presentation will showcase dance companies performing pieces that both represent Africa and the African Diaspora as well as embody the principle of Kuumba.
This will be a one-day event taking place annually on the sixth day of Kwanzaa (Kuumba)–December 31st. The show will be from 5-7:30 p.m. The full duration of the project including fundraising activities and executing the project will be one year.
The project will take place at Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston (MATCH) in Matchbox 2. It is located at 3400 Main Street, Houston, TX. 77002.
The primary audience is members of the Houston community who would like to celebrate and learn more about Kwanzaa. Although many artistic performances are geared mostly towards artists, this show is designed to expose the greater Houston community (including families and a myriad of ethnic groups) to Kwanzaa and Afro-Dance.
The goal of Dance Afrikana presents Kuumba: A Celebration of Afro-Dance is to add to Houston’s current Kwanzaa celebrations by providing a space for people of the African Diaspora to connect with and celebrate their heritage through dance, while also providing an artistic platform for dance companies, choreographers, and performers of color. Furthermore to spread awareness about Afro-culture, history, and Kwanzaa.
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ABOUT THE TEAM
Lindsay Gary is a multi-disciplinary professional dancer with over twenty years of dance and performance experience and six years of choreography and creative direction experience. Inspired by Katherine Dunham’s theory of memory of difference, Lindsay uses dance performance, dance-making, and dance education to inform, connect, and empower the African Diaspora. Her specializations include modern/contemporary, traditional and contemporary African dance, Caribbean dance, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian samba, jazz, tap, ballet, and hip hop.
Lindsay graduated from the University of Houston in 2012 with a BA in history and minors in dance and business. In 2015 she completed her MA in history and MPA in public policy from Texas Southern University. She has trained with prestigious companies and choreographers including the Silvestre Technique Training Institute (Brazil), Movement of the People Dance Company (NYC), and Urban Souls (Houston). In addition to this, Lindsay has not only travelled the world studying dance but has also performed on nationwide tours with Cirque Zuma Zuma (Africa’s Cirque du Soleil), and as a choreographer and background dancer for Nigerian Afrobeats artist Korede Bello, Trinidadian Soca artist T-Rock, and Solange Knowles. Lindsay is a sought-after dance teacher and has taught master classes locally and nationwide.
She is the co-founder of Pretty Cultured’s Movement Passport, a dance intensive that highlights dances of the African Diaspora and uses art to speak on social and cultural topics, and the founder and creative director of Dance Afrikana, a professional dance company that exists to connect and celebrate Africa and the Diaspora through dance. She has received numerous awards and recognition for her work including becoming a 2017-2018 Artist in Residence for Dance Source Houston which culminated in an evening-length production of her original choreography “Eleggua,” as well as being accepted into Fresh Arts’ Artist INC program for artist-entrepreneurs.
The mission of Dance Afrikana presents Kuumba: A Celebration of Afro-Dance is to curate a space for the Houston community to celebrate and learn about Kwanzaa and Afro-dance.