Step Afrika! Brings African-American Tradition to On Stage!

Get ready for the percussive sounds of Step Afrika!, the first professional company in the world dedicated to the tradition of stepping. Performing a mix of South African gumboot and Zulu dance, slam poetry, and, of course, fraternity and sorority stepping, Step Afrika! will rattle the rafters at Martinsville High School Auditorium on Thursday, March 3 at 7:30 pm as part of the Piedmont Arts On Stage! performing arts series.

Stepping is a form of dance in which the participant's body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through kicks, stomps, claps and chants – all linked to African and modern dance traditions. “We’re not just talking hand-clapping and foot-stomping but chest-slapping, thigh-smacking, boot-bonking, hamboning, head-whacking and finger-snapping, too" said Sarah Kaufman of the Washington Post.

Based in Washington, DC, Step Afrika! is critically acclaimed for its efforts to promote an understanding of and appreciation for stepping and the dance tradition's use as an educational tool for young people worldwide. Step Afrika reaches tens of thousands of Americans each year and has performed on many stages in North & South America, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.

Tickets to Step Afrika's On Stage! performance are available here, at Piedmont Arts or by calling 276.632.3221. Tickets are $20 for reserved, $10 for adults and $5 for students.

This tour of Step Afrika! is made possible by a grant from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.