MLK Community Dance Day!
$5 PER CLASS!
Celebrate Martin Luther King Day at our Community Dance Day Workshop! Enjoy five dynamic one-hour dance classes for just $5 each giving students the chance to explore diverse styles and embrace the joy of movement. All levels are welcome so join us for some of your favorite Cumbe classes on this incredibly special day in honor of Martin Luther King Jr, connect with the Cumbe community, and experience dances from across the African Diaspora.
12pm · Belly Dance with Jaida / $5
Belly dance holds a long history and tradition, originating in the Middle East, tracing back to ancient Egypt. Over time, it conquered the world and imagination with its intricate rhythms, sensual movement and spiritual connection. Belly dance unites women on a quest to understand the power of their sensuality, grow confident in their own movement expression and integrate the liberating notion that the feminine and her sexuality are healthy, powerful and significant. It builds core strength, improves posture and aids digestion. Movements are rhythmic, fluid and connect music, body, mind and spirit. Belly dance is traditionally adorned with beautiful costumes that highlight the dancer’s unique and feminine design. Move freely, with confidence and grace. Connect to tradition, storytelling and yourself.
1:15-2:15pm · Kutiro with Ousmane Sall / $5
Learn Kutiro rhythms and dances with Ousmane Sall! African dance styles (djembe, sabar, kutiro) are named after the drums used to play the rhythms for the dance. Cumbe is excited to offer you a chance to learn Kutiro dances, which are not easily found in NYC. Ousmane brings warmth into the classroom, encouraging each student to feel at ease, and inspiring the freedom to open themselves up to the rhythm. From a traditional drumming and dance family, Ousmane performed for many years with two Senegalese dance companies: National Ballet Senemew, and Silimbo D’Adeane.
2:30-3:30pm · Haitian Dance with Julio Jean / $5
A class for all! This Haitian dance class will take you on a journey to the ‘nanm’, meaning ‘soul’ in Haitian creole. Learn from the source with Julio Jean, experienced, Haitian dancer, artist and teacher. Haitian cultural dance is a musical and embodied ode to the different ‘Iwa’, the gods of Vodou religion. Through dance, song and rhythms you’ll explore traditional Haitian dance forms whose ancient roots trace back to Africa and whose unique identity was shaped through a rich history of cultural exchanges in Haiti. Feel the undulating movements of ‘Yanvalou’, the powerful precision of ‘Nago’ and the grace and beauty of ‘Kongo’ with the immersive instructions of Julio Jean whose extensive credits include work with the creator of Dunham Technique, Katherine Dunham.
3:45-4:45pm · ASA! Fitness with Dianne / $5
ASA! Fitness is a low-impact, high-intensity, total body dance fitness program. Set to the latest tunes in Afrobeat, Azonto, Akayida, Makossa and Ndombolo, ASA! Fitness infuses the latest and most classic African dance movements with innovative exercise. The routines in ASA! Fitness are designed to target and enhance cardiorespiratory capacity, dynamic strength, functional strength and core strength. An engaging fusion of modern club movements with cultural African energy into an enchantingly upbeat event, ASA! Fitness is a life-changing total body endurance experience!
5-6pm · West African - Guinean with Darian Parker / $5
The knowledgeable and talented Darian Parker, artist and academic, shares the soulful, skillful and unique dances of Guinea, West Africa. Guinea is renowned for its lively rhythms, intricate movement techniques and a heritage that withstands time and has informed many Diasporic rhythmic and dance traditions. Class is accessible to all levels and begins with a warm-up designed to improve flexibility, strengthen the core, improve stamina, and get acquainted with West African music. The second part of the class starts with a brief history and context of the dances you’re about to learn, this will inform your execution of the movements. An extensive breakdown of technique follows and through repetition, you’ll practice and start to embody the rhythms and movement.