Purdue's Jahari Dance Troupe present 'Once Upon a Music Box'

Kevin Iega Jeff

Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for the general public, and are available at the Loeb Box Office at (765) 494-3933.

BCC artist-in-residence Kevin Iega Jeff, a professional dancer who founded Chicago's Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre, choreographed the main production.

"'Once Upon a Music Box' is paying tribute to African Americans who have been or are still in Hollywood," Jeff said. "We'll honor Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson, Lena Horne and Mary J. Blige, and have a piece from Tina Turner and Ray Charles."

Students at the Black Cultural Center have been studying the history of Hollywood with this year's theme, "Fade to Black: African-American Images in Film and Media." Student coordinator Tamara Ammons-Jones said the dancers will present different stages of a performance.

"We are a performance inside a performance," Ammons-Jones said. "First, you see us on stage as if we were taking a dance class. From there, we will practice getting ready for a performance. Last, we will actually do the performance."

The show will feature choreography from several students as well as some traditional pieces from the Jahari repertoire. Guest choreographers were Gary Abbott, Marion Willis III and Elana Anderson, members of the Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre.

"Not only will the show display technical techniques, but it will also display a blending of entertainment from Broadway, hip hop and classical styles," Jeff said. "It will have a lot of fun pieces, and the audience will be able to relate to everything we do because they know the people we're honoring."

The Jahari Dance Troupe was established in 1971 and is one of four performing arts ensembles that are housed within the Black Cultural Center. The group, named for the Swahili word meaning jewels, is a student company trained in a variety of techniques that range from traditional styles to contemporary trends in black dance. Jahari's repertoire includes African, ballet, Caribbean, folk, jazz, modern dance and music video dance styles.

Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Source: William Caise, Black Cultural Center assistant director, (765) 494-4630

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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