Contemporary African Dance Theatre

Contemporary African Dance Theatre: Phenomenology, whiteness, and the gaze offers a model of interweaving the histories, philosophies and movement practices of Europe and Africa through the lenses of both performers and viewers of contemporary dance. It also thoughtfully addresses gender and its intersection with race in colonial paradigms of visual culture and embodiment. Contemporary African Dance Theatre carries a through-line that continually interrogates the suppositions of audience members and the ways that African artists address prejudice. (Rainy Demerson, Performance Research, May 24, 2021)

Contemporary African Dance Theatre attests to the powerful artistic voices from Africa and the diaspora that invite white audiences into confrontation with the politics of their white gaze, even as white people hold significant financial and curatorial power in the circulation of works by African artists. Her work is testimony to the urgent need for consumers of dance to deepen their literacy of African and diasporic dance cultures and aesthetics. (Amy Swanson, Dance Research Journal, Vol. 52 (2), August, 2020)