This week the African Students Association at Arizona State University and the Phoenix Chapter of The Links, Incorporated collaborated to create the “Afro-Grooves: Dance Series,” which aims to connect students to their cultural heritage in a fun and relaxing environment.
The Links, Incorporated is an organization of professional African American women and women of African descent who come together to do community service. The organization sponsored the event as an opportunity to contribute to the local African American community.
Nailah Butler, the international trends and services chair of the Phoenix Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, aided in coordinating the event alongside AFSA member Powj Nyibong, a sophomore studying architectural studies.
The pair worked together to organize the event and intentionally arranged it for the AFSA community as an opportunity for the group to mobilize for an event geared toward cultural awareness.
“I would love for ‘Afro-Grooves’ to contribute to cultural awareness here at ASU by helping ignite the fire within students who are from different countries within the diaspora to get back in touch with their roots and get back in touch with their heritage,” Butler said.
Butler brought in movement artist Didi Moloi to instruct the series. Moloi is originally from Lesotho, a country within South Africa’s borders, and she mainly teaches South African styles. The first event began with a lesson on the cultural significance of the dances that the attendees would learn.
The series centers around IsiPantsula, a style that originated in South Africa and has gained worldwide prominence. IsiPantsula emerged in the 1950s and 1960s and drew inspiration from tap, hip-hop and other dance styles from around the world. Other genres of dance showcased at the event included Amapiano, Bhenga and Gqom.
“For a lot of people, (the music and dance) is their pride and joy,” Moloi said. “You wear it on your chest. In South Africa, we own this style. We are this style. We created it, and it’s pushing across the world.”
The atmosphere at the event was fun and high-energy. Ernie Razo, a senior studying popular music, attended the event and enjoyed learning a new dance style.
“To watch the joy, to watch the incredible dancing, was so cool,” Razo said. “In the best way, the energy was up. Everybody brought accepting, loving and open energy.”
The last hour of the experience was dedicated to learning a dance combo in the Amapiano style. Attendees learned four different eight-count sequences and by the end of the session, all were able to dance to a full song.
Those in attendance had the opportunity to engage with a new style of dance and learn about the culture that it stemmed from, a fact not lost on Nyibong.
“That’s part of the cultural significance of this whole experience, to give people an authentic experience to engage with,” she said. “(Attendees) take away a true lesson that’s rooted in the actual history.”
The “Afro-Grooves: Dance Series” will continue throughout February. Each experience will take place on Tuesday nights at 7:30 p.m. in the Downtown Sun Devil Fitness Complex. Community members are encouraged to attend each week to engage with the full experience.
“I hope that we can increase our attendance over the next couple of sessions so we can reach more people,” Nyibong said. “I can’t wait for that last session, where we can get everybody who’s ever had any interest in African dance to participate.”
“I wanted others to feel that sense of confidence. I wanted others to feel that sense of connection and bonding with other African students,” Nyibong said. “And in terms of the cultural significance of this, it was actually really unexpected to learn so much.”
Edited by Senna James, Abigail Beck, Tiya Talwar and Natalia Jarrett.
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