Tuesday, October 27, 2020
6:30-7:30 PM
Off Campus Location
Free & Open to the public
Registration required: http://myumi.ch/PlNqD
T. Ayo Alston teaches and practices a signature theatrical style of West African drum and dance culture that captures the strength and power of women and community. Ayo is the founder, executive director, composer, and choreographer of Ayodele Drum and Dance, a performance training organization created for women to affirm their self-confidence and strength. Through Ayodele, she has performed, educated, fostered interpersonal healing, and created artistic work from a foundation of traditional African cultures fused with contemporary dance styles.
Throughout her career Ayo has taught, choreographed, and performed at schools and universities locally and nationally, as well as in African and Brazilian countries, as an independent artist and as a member of other companies and organizations, such as Dance Africa, Drum Cafe West, Le Bagatae Company of Guinea, Les Ballets Africans, and Muntu Dance Theatre.
In the last two years Ayo has been focused on fine-tuning and sharing her ability to compose music on African instruments, such as the kalimba. This resulted in her accepting a role as a lead actress in and musical composer for Mies Julie at Victory Gardens Theater and as a composer and musician for The Lion King Jr. at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).
Ayo serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia College Chicago and on the Dance faculty at Chicago High School of the Arts. She also has developed drum and dance programs that are thriving in prestigious schools, such as Jones College Prep and Walter Payton College Prep, where Ayodele has trained dancers to teach and gain professional artistic skills and experience.
In the new virtual series, PERFORMING THE MOVEMENT, PERFORMING THE MOMENT, Center for World Performance Studies invites performers and scholars from diverse disciplines to reflect on how performance is being used to respond to the political, social, health and environmental crises that we face at this moment. Each guest will give a 30 minute presentation, and then engage in 30 minutes of Q&A. Sessions will take place over Zoom and require advance registration. You can read about the panelists, register for these events, find recommended reading and resources and/or request recordings of past events at https://lsa.umich.edu/world-performance.
If you require an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact the Center for World Performance Studies, at 734-936-2777. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the University to arrange.
Registration required: http://myumi.ch/PlNqD
T. Ayo Alston teaches and practices a signature theatrical style of West African drum and dance culture that captures the strength and power of women and community. Ayo is the founder, executive director, composer, and choreographer of Ayodele Drum and Dance, a performance training organization created for women to affirm their self-confidence and strength. Through Ayodele, she has performed, educated, fostered interpersonal healing, and created artistic work from a foundation of traditional African cultures fused with contemporary dance styles.
Throughout her career Ayo has taught, choreographed, and performed at schools and universities locally and nationally, as well as in African and Brazilian countries, as an independent artist and as a member of other companies and organizations, such as Dance Africa, Drum Cafe West, Le Bagatae Company of Guinea, Les Ballets Africans, and Muntu Dance Theatre.
In the last two years Ayo has been focused on fine-tuning and sharing her ability to compose music on African instruments, such as the kalimba. This resulted in her accepting a role as a lead actress in and musical composer for Mies Julie at Victory Gardens Theater and as a composer and musician for The Lion King Jr. at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).
Ayo serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia College Chicago and on the Dance faculty at Chicago High School of the Arts. She also has developed drum and dance programs that are thriving in prestigious schools, such as Jones College Prep and Walter Payton College Prep, where Ayodele has trained dancers to teach and gain professional artistic skills and experience.
In the new virtual series, PERFORMING THE MOVEMENT, PERFORMING THE MOMENT, Center for World Performance Studies invites performers and scholars from diverse disciplines to reflect on how performance is being used to respond to the political, social, health and environmental crises that we face at this moment. Each guest will give a 30 minute presentation, and then engage in 30 minutes of Q&A. Sessions will take place over Zoom and require advance registration. You can read about the panelists, register for these events, find recommended reading and resources and/or request recordings of past events at https://lsa.umich.edu/world-performance.
If you require an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact the Center for World Performance Studies, at 734-936-2777. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the University to arrange.
| Building: | Off Campus Location |
|---|---|
| Location: | Virtual |
| Website: | |
| Event Type: | Presentation |
| Tags: | Africa, African American, Dance, Interdisciplinary, MESA, Music, Storytelling, Women's Studies |
| Source: | Happening @ Michigan from Center for World Performance Studies, Residential College |
The Center for World Performance Studies sponsors and cosponsors several special events throughout the year, including performances, public lectures, demonstrations, and roundtables. Our events are announced on our website, and through email and flyer distribution. Please contact us at CWPS.Information@umich.edu if you would like to be on our mailing list or if you would like more information on any of the following events.
