Step: Afrika! Drumfolk, inspired by the Stono Rebellion in 1739, shows the human will and perseverance of African Americans to preserve their culture.
Written by Willa Wu
Step! Afrika performed 'Drumfolk' in the Colwell Playhouse of the Krannert Center for Performing Arts on February 7, 2020.' The energetic performers, who have sold out shows on Off-Broadway, delivered an educational and fun performance on an event that few people are aware of, but is crucial to African American culture: the Stono Rebellion.
Coming in and reading the program, I was certain that I had never heard of stepping before. However, once the performance started, I was incredibly surprised to find that I had been seeing it for years at my middle and high school's annual Multicultural Show. This entire time, I had been ignorant enough to brush off those performances as just dances, and not see the cultural importance of stepping. Step: Afrika! opened my eyes to the professional world of stepping, and the ability to tell stories within the dance.
The majority of sound played throughout the performance were made through drums and the dancers' own bodies. In the beginning, the performers started off by using their feet to create rhythm. Throughout the performances, they began to add elements such as beatboxing, snapping, and singing to create more complex sounds. In my opinion, the most impressive sounds made were through the beatboxer, who was able to dance and beatbox at the same time. The performers explained the history of stepping by showing African Americans with their drums before they were taken away. Rhythm has always been a core value of African culture, and once the drums were taken away, alternative measures were found through their body. 'They took the drums away, but they could not stop the beat' was a chant that was ingrained in my mind by the end of the performance. By using their own bodies as instruments, African Americans are able to keep their culture alive.
No matter what the performers did, they always showed their support for one another on stage. This meant that even when they were not moving in unison, the performers would frequently gather around one individual as he or she dances and cheer them on. This gave a sense of community within the dancers, and showed the audience that whatever hardship they go through, they enter together. Unexpectedly, the audience was asked to participate many times throughout the performance. It was either clapping our hands to the beat or chanting short phrases, in which the performers incorporated into their storytelling. Not only did this make the experience more enjoyable and fun, but it made the audience feel even closer to the performers by taking part in their community.
The storytelling in this performance was marked with the resilience and resistance of African Americans during the Stono Rebellion. The most explicit example of their quest for freedom is when a group of male performers held on to each other and marched, chanting the words, 'F-R-E-E free!'. In addition, parts of Negro Act of 1740 was read aloud to highlight the unfairness and restrictions of the act made to bound African Americans even further into submission. Their resistance is showed when the Negro Act of 1740 revoked the right to use drums. By using their body to make the beats, the culture was kept alive and showed resistance to the act.
The storytelling of Step: Afrika! Drumfolk was incredibly well done, and the audience participation furthers the fun of the performance. My favorite part of the entire performance was when a performer sang 'Lay Low in the Wilderness'. The scenery, props, and voice of the singer was already extremely well put together, and the dance of the performers tied it all together. One of the key elements of the performance that I loved was the unique use of stage props such as the 'house' and the sticks. The floor of the center stage amplified their stepping, and the sticks added more opportunities to add beats and rhythm to their performance. Midway through the performance, I looked behind the drummers and saw that even they had pads under their feet built with similar materials as the house.