Tim Danube, associate director of the Student Center/Union, 308-865-8523, danubet@unk.edu
Step Afrika! will perform at the University of Nebraska at Kearney at 8 p.m. April 9 at the Health and Sports Center.
Sponsored by the Lopers Programming and Activities Council, Step Afrika! is one of the first professional companies in the world dedicated to the tradition of stepping. The performance is free to UNK students with a valid ID and $3 for general admission.
Stepping is a dance that uses the body as an instrument, and combines footsteps, claps and spoken word to produce complex rhythms. Stepping has roots in African dance and military marching. Founded in 1994, Step Afrika! has performed in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.
The company has been featured on CNN, BET, PBS and NPR as well as in numerous books, documentaries and articles that seek to explore the tradition of stepping. Step Afrika! serves as a cultural ambassador for the United States, representing the nation at events around the world through special invitations from American embassies.
“I, along with other members of LPAC, had the opportunity to attend the National Association for Campus Activities conference in North Carolina last year,” said Rachel Svoboda, chair for programming arts in LPAC. “At the conference, we had the opportunity to see a performance by Step Afrika!. We thought their performance was amazing, and thought it would be something well received at UNK.”
For more information about Step Afrika!, go to: http://www.stepafrika.org/home.htm.
