Featuring choreography by Oluyinka Akinjiola, Uriah Boyd and Jamie Minkus

Friday, June 26th at 7pm
Saturday at June 27th 7pm
Sunday June 28th at 5pm

Performance Works NorthWest || 4625 SE 67th Ave. $12 in advance or $15 at the door http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1555218

Photo above by Matthew Yeoman. SEE MORE PHOTOS HERE.

Icon 1) a person who is the object of extreme devotion  2) a visible representation of something abstract  3.) widely known and extremely talked about

Rejoice: Diaspora Dance Theater presents ICONS, an evening length performance of dance and live music exploring cultural icons from sacred to secular, historic to fantasized, and political to social. Oluyinka Akinjiola’s Phenomenally is guided by the poetry of Maya Angelou. Her other work, Oshun, Xica and the Sambista explores black feminism through Sojourner Truth’s “Aint I a Woman” speech, Xica da Silva’s symbolism to resistence, and Oshún, the deity of fresh water and sensuality. Premiers include a solo by Uriah Boyd set to the music of Nina Simone, a group work by Jamie Minkus exploring our familial icons, and a collaborative work by Oluyinka Akinjiola and Jamie Minkus which places Ogun, the deity of iron and civilization, in the concrete jungle of Portland. Guest Artists include Donna Mation and Kemba Shannon; live music by Jeff Burres, Simon Lucas, and Andy Sterling; solos performed by Oluyinka Akinjiola.

Rejoice: Diaspora Dance Theater is an ensemble of multi dimensional dancers and musicians led by the artistic direction of Oluyinka Akinjiola. The dance and music begin with folklore from the African Diaspora, including Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Cuban cultures. We look at tradition in a contemporary approach that is relevant to us, our paths and our community. We use this folkloric movement as a basis of communication to our immediate surroundings. Rejoice formed during the New Expressive Works artistic residency at Studio 2@ Zoomtipia during Oluyinka Akinjiola’s artist residency.

Oluyinka A. Akinjiola received a MFA in Dance Choreography and Performance from SUNY the College at Brockport. She creates a unique blend between dances of Africa, the African Diaspora and Modern dance. She was a three year guest artist for the Sankofa African Drum & Dance Ensemble; her work was featured in the International Association of Blacks in Dance conference (Washington D.C.), DanceStrasser (Brockport, NY), and Carnaval 2014 (Salvador, BA, Brazil), and Ten Tiny Dances (Beaverton, OR). Oluyinka currently dances with Axé Didé, was featured in the Artist Repertory Theater production of Cuba Libre, and is a teaching Artist with the Right Brain Initiative, Young Audiences Arts 4 Learning and the Peninsula School SUN program. Oluyinka is the artistic director and choreographer for Rejoice: Diaspora Dance Theater.

Read about the other choreographers, dancers and collaborators HERE.

A PWNW Alembic Co-Production
Made possible with the support of the Fred W. Fields Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation