‘Agbedidi’ a celebration of African dance, music

This week, three performances mark the 20th anniversary of “Agbedidi,” UF’s annual celebration of African dance and music.

Presented by the UF School of Theatre and Dance, “Agbedidi” runs 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20-21, and 2 p.m. Nov. 23.

This year’s production is notable in that it will include authentic traditional dancing of African nations alongside 21st-century contemporary dance.

“We are blurring the imaginary boundary between what is traditional and what is called ‘contemporary,’ ” says UF dance professor Joan Frosch. “The production is emblematic of our commitment to presenting the best in choreography from across the U.S. and the world.”

Frosch, a founding member of The Africa Contemporary Arts Consortium, a national organization, has served as president of Florida Dance Association, as advisor to the Smithsonian’s Festival of American Folklife African Immigrant Project and as a board member of the Congress on Research in Dance.

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This is the first year that “Agbedidi” is crafted solely within the School of Theatre and Dance. (Before this year, the production was a collaborative effort between UF and Miami’s New World School of the Arts.)

“Agbedidi” is a major highlight of the UF dance department season. It is Gainesville’s superior presentation of the unions of music and dance, of students and professionals, of folk traditions and stage spectacle, and of American and international cultures.

Content is both thought provoking and highly entertaining. As in the past, audiences can expect tremendous energy and athleticism from the dancers, who perform alongside rousing, complex live musical accompaniment.

“We have what is probably the pre-eminent drummer in the U.S., Eric Gore, performing,” says Frosch. “He is an extraordinary musician who Gainesville deserves to hear.”

UF senior lecturer Mohamed DaCosta directs the show. Originally from the country of Guinea, DaCosta is an international authority on West African dancing and drumming, and has performed throughout the world with Chuck Davis and the African American Dance Ensemble, with African Ballet of Gambia and with Culture Movement, which was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Contributing choreographers include visiting assistant professor Trent D. Williams Jr. and guest artist Raja Kelly. Williams and Kelly each contribute two works.

Williams’ “Standing In...,” which is part of “Agbedidi,” will again be performed by UF students at The Kennedy Center in 2015.

Frosch says that Williams’ additional work, which is titled “his story,” “really looks deeply at the black male in American society, which is a story we need new, other imagery for than what has been most often presented by other sources.”

Kelly will incorporate two works into “Agbedidi”: “The Firebombers” and “Super We.”

UF students recently performed “Super We” at the Kennedy Center as part of the National College Dance Festival.

“The Firebombers” was inspired by the Anne Sexton poem of the same name. “It invites us into a world where we can better create community and care for one another,” Frosch says.

Last week, UF hosted Faustin Linyekula, a contemporary choreographer from the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as Panaibra Gabriel Canda, a fellow choreographer from Mozambique who founded that country’s first contemporary dance company.

Linyekula, who has a longstanding collaborative history with the UF dance department, was awarded the 2014 Curry Stone Design Prize, a first for any choreographer in the world. His Congolese dance company, Studios Kabako, was honored for using culture as a tool for development in post-conflict regions.

Linyekula is featured in the documentary “Movement (R)evolution Africa,” which won the 2007 Jury Prize at Lincoln Center Dance on Camera film festival. The film was produced and co-directed by Frosch.

Frosch directs the UF Center for World Arts, which launched the first “Agbedidi” 20 years ago. From the Ewe language, the word “agbedidi” translates to mean “long life.” Since its 1995 premiere, “Agbedidi” the show maintains a mission to encourage the continued life of African-influenced performance worldwide.

In the African tradition of storytelling, “Agbedidi” crafts a narrative for audiences to follow, and the storyline changes each year. This year’s theme centers on the migration of peoples throughout Africa.

All shows are at UF’s Constans Theatre, in the Nadine McGuire Theatre and Dance Pavilion, 687 McCarty Drive.

Tickets are $17 for the general public, and $13 for senior citizens, UF students, faculty and staff.

In advance, tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com and the University Box Office, which is located at Gate 1 of the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Box office hours are noon to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The box office phone number is 392-1653.

Contact Sarah Ingley at mazedance@gmail.com.