Step Afrika!
Saturday, February 25, 2023, 8pm
Zellerbach Hall
Run time for this performance is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.
From the Executive and Artistic Director
We move now into the busiest time of the year at Cal Performances, with a schedule that offers a nearly nonstop celebration of the very finest in the performing arts.
This month alone, we welcome our great friends at the Mark Morris Dance Group for the Bay Area premiere of Morris’ latest, The Look of Love, a fresh and heartfelt homage to the chart-topping songs of Burt Bacharach. We’ll also hear classical masterworks from audience favorites, cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han; a particularly far-ranging concert from the extraordinary pianist Jeremy Denk; well-loved solo works by J.S. Bach coupled with new compositions by the best and brightest voices in contemporary music from the insightful young violinist Alexi Kenney; and a bold selection of new music by UC Berkeley composers from the university’s own Eco Ensemble.
Add to that performances with Kodo, Japan’s ever-popular and soul-stirring taiko drummers; an evening with NPR’s Ira Glass sharing new stories and reflections from his decades-long career; an afternoon conversation with the legendary Rita Moreno discussing her fascinating life in Hollywood; and a rousing program with the virtuosic dancers of Washington DC’s celebrated Step Afrika! troupe as it continues and extends the long tradition of stepping—elaborate and joyful song and dance rituals performed by Black fraternities and sororities since the early 1900s.
And that’s just our schedule for February. In March, two events deserve special attention: the return of the legendary Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Christian Thielemann (making his Bay Area concert debut), and the US premiere of revered South African artist William Kentridge’s astonishing new SIBYL (part of a major campus-wide residency with this singular artist; for more, see Thomas May’s excellent article on Kentridge, beginning on the next page).
Upcoming Illuminations programming will continue to take advantage of Cal Performances’ unique positioning as a vital part of the world’s top-ranked public university. As we’ve done all season long, we’ll be engaging communities on and off campus to examine the evolution of tools such as musical instruments and electronics, the complex relationships between the creators and users of technology, the possibilities enabled by technology’s impact on the creative process, and questions raised by the growing role of artificial intelligence in our society.
This concept of “Human and Machine” has never been so pertinent to so many. Particularly over the course of the pandemic, the rapid expansion of technology’s role in improving communication and in helping us emotionally process unforeseen and, at times, extraordinarily difficult events has made a permanent mark on our human history. Throughout time, our reliance on technology to communicate has—for better and worse—influenced how we understand others as well as ourselves. During this Illuminations season, we will investigate how technology has contributed to our capacity for self-expression, as well as the potential dangers it may pose.
Some programs this season will bring joy and delight, and others will inspire reflection and stir debate. We are committed to presenting this wide range of artistic expression on our stages because of our faith in the performing arts’ power to promote empathy. And it is because of our audiences’ openness and curiosity that we have the privilege of bringing such thought-provoking, adventurous performances to our campus. The Cal Performances community wants the arts to engage in important conversations, and to bring us all together as we see and feel the world through the experiences of others.
Please make sure to check out our brochures and our website for complete information about upcoming events. We can’t wait to share all the details with you, in print and online.
Thank you for joining us at Cal Performances!
Jeremy Geffen
Executive and Artistic Director, Cal Performances
We move now into the busiest time of the year at Cal Performances, with a schedule that offers a nearly nonstop celebration of the very finest in the performing arts.
This month alone, we welcome our great friends at the Mark Morris Dance Group for the Bay Area premiere of Morris’ latest, The Look of Love, a fresh and heartfelt homage to the chart-topping songs of Burt Bacharach. We’ll also hear classical masterworks from audience favorites, cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han; a particularly far-ranging concert from the extraordinary pianist Jeremy Denk; well-loved solo works by J.S. Bach coupled with new compositions by the best and brightest voices in contemporary music from the insightful young violinist Alexi Kenney; and a bold selection of new music by UC Berkeley composers from the university’s own Eco Ensemble.
Add to that performances with Kodo, Japan’s ever-popular and soul-stirring taiko drummers; an evening with NPR’s Ira Glass sharing new stories and reflections from his decades-long career; an afternoon conversation with the legendary Rita Moreno discussing her fascinating life in Hollywood; and a rousing program with the virtuosic dancers of Washington DC’s celebrated Step Afrika! troupe as it continues and extends the long tradition of stepping—elaborate and joyful song and dance rituals performed by Black fraternities and sororities since the early 1900s.
And that’s just our schedule for February. In March, two events deserve special attention: the return of the legendary Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Christian Thielemann (making his Bay Area concert debut), and the US premiere of revered South African artist William Kentridge’s astonishing new SIBYL (part of a major campus-wide residency with this singular artist; for more, see Thomas May’s excellent article on Kentridge, beginning on the next page).
Upcoming Illuminations programming will continue to take advantage of Cal Performances’ unique positioning as a vital part of the world’s top-ranked public university. As we’ve done all season long, we’ll be engaging communities on and off campus to examine the evolution of tools such as musical instruments and electronics, the complex relationships between the creators and users of technology, the possibilities enabled by technology’s impact on the creative process, and questions raised by the growing role of artificial intelligence in our society.
This concept of “Human and Machine” has never been so pertinent to so many. Particularly over the course of the pandemic, the rapid expansion of technology’s role in improving communication and in helping us emotionally process unforeseen and, at times, extraordinarily difficult events has made a permanent mark on our human history. Throughout time, our reliance on technology to communicate has—for better and worse—influenced how we understand others as well as ourselves. During this Illuminations season, we will investigate how technology has contributed to our capacity for self-expression, as well as the potential dangers it may pose.
Some programs this season will bring joy and delight, and others will inspire reflection and stir debate. We are committed to presenting this wide range of artistic expression on our stages because of our faith in the performing arts’ power to promote empathy. And it is because of our audiences’ openness and curiosity that we have the privilege of bringing such thought-provoking, adventurous performances to our campus. The Cal Performances community wants the arts to engage in important conversations, and to bring us all together as we see and feel the world through the experiences of others.
Please make sure to check out our brochures and our website for complete information about upcoming events. We can’t wait to share all the details with you, in print and online.
Thank you for joining us at Cal Performances!
Jeremy Geffen
Executive and Artistic Director, Cal Performances
About the Performance
TRIBUTE
Tribute pays homage to the African American step show. The work combines the distinct stepping styles from different fraternities and sororities and blends them together to showcase the incredible variety of stepping. Tribute includes all the exciting elements of the step show—the use of props, ripples, and floor work, creative formations, and audience participation. (Choreographed by Jakari Sherman.)
NDLAMU
Ndlamu is a traditional dance of the Zulu people and for more than 25 years, Step Afrika! has studied the dance form through the company’s long-standing partnership with the Soweto Dance Theater. Step Afrika! makes this Ndlamu uniquely its own, featuring solos created by each dancer as well as the addition of contemporary movement. (Choreographed by Jackie Semela.)
ISICATHULO
Isicathulo or “the gumboot dance” is a tradition created by South African workers who labored in the oppressive mining industry of then-Apartheid South Africa. Isolated from their families for long periods, the miners transformed their rubber boots into percussive instruments to not only entertain but to share secret messages with each other. Isicathulo has become one of the most popular dance forms in South Africa and has striking similarities to the African-American tradition of stepping. (Choreographed by Jackie Semela.)
SOLO
Traditionally, stepping is performed by groups, big and small. In this piece, Step Afrika! investigates the form at its most intimate level.
CHICAGO
Chicago finds the rhythm in everyday situations. It is a percussive symphony using body percussion and up to five complex polyrhythms performed simultaneously in order to narrate a percussive dance “story.” Inspired by a summer spent in the Windy City, this ground-breaking work transforms the 100-year-old folkloric tradition of stepping into contemporary performance art. (Choreographed by Jakari Sherman.)
