Dallas, Texas -- Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s(DBDT) annual DanceAfrica Festival & Marketplace is back for its 19th year. Themed Voices of the Drum: Echoes of Unity, this year’s celebration aims to encapsulate the powerful connection between music, dance and community. This multi-day celebration will feature events across the Arts District in October, with performances from all five of DBDT’s dance companies and special guest performers.

The tradition of DanceAfrica was created in 1977 by famed dancer and choreographer, Baba Chuck Davis, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Founded with the goal of bringing awareness to African culture, the festival is now America’s largest celebration of African dance and culture with multiple organizations hosting regional DanceAfrica events across the nation.

WHEN & WHERE

DanceAfrica | In-Person & Streaming

October 11-12, 2024 | 7:30PM
Moody Performance Hall

FREE Festival & Marketplace

FREE West African Community Dance Class | In-Person & Virtual
Taught by Ayodele Drum & Dance
October 9, 2024 | 6PM-7:30PM
DBDT Studios

PERFORMERS

Guest Artist: Ayodele Drum & Dance 

Ayodele Drum & Dance is a Chicago-based West African drum and dance company who uses both mediums to educate and motivate young women and children through performances and community engagement. This event will mark their first live performance in Dallas.

Guest Artist: Voices of Empowerment

Led by Pamela Dawson, the Director of Choirs for DeSoto High School, who became the first African-American female Grammy Music Educator of the Year in 2023.

TICKETS

$48 in-person

$25 livestream

Purchase tickets online at dbdt.com or call (214) 468-8602.

About Dallas Black Dance Theatre
Founded in 1976 by Ann Williams, Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s mission is to create and produce contemporary modern dance at the highest level of artistic excellence through performances and educational programs that bridge cultures and reach diverse communities. As the largest and oldest professional dance company in Dallas, DBDT is the fourth-largest Black dance company in the nation, the seventh-largest contemporary modern dance company, and ranked 36th among the nation’s leading ballet companies.

Located in the thriving downtown Dallas Arts District, DBDT has performed worldwide for over 5 million arts patrons and 3 million students in 37 states and 16 countries on five continents. The performances include two Olympics (1996 & 2012), the nation’s most prestigious venues (Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Broadway, Jacob’s Pillow and Joyce Theatre), and for such luminaries as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and South African President Nelson Mandela.

Since the pandemic began in 2020, DBDT performances have also been viewed virtually in 43 countries. The Company has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as an American Masterpiece Touring Artist (2008) and received the Texas Medal of the Arts Award for Arts Education (2017).