Walker Art Center presents
Body Prayers: Choreographers’ Evening Special Edition
Friday, June 4
Breaking Bread Celebration: 6pm CDT
Film Premiere: 7pm CDT
Body Prayers is available to view online Friday, June 4, 7pm through Monday, June 7, 11:59pm CDT
Body Prayers: Choreographers’ Evening Special Edition
Curated by
DEJAJOELLE
Featuring
AL TAW'AM /
IMAN AND KHADIJAH SIFERLLAH-GRIFFIN
Zero
Dancers: Iman and Khadijah Siferllah-Griffin
BROTHER(HOOD) DANCE! / ORLANDO ZANE HUNTER JR AND RICARRDO VALENTINE
How to Survive a Plague (Excerpt): The Children in the Life
Dancers: Orlando Zane Hunter Jr and Ricarrdo Valentine
COLIN EDWARDS AND CANAAN MATTSON
Foundations
Dancers: Canaan Mattson, Cecil Neal, Colin Edwards, Jahi Henry, Raphael Dow, Traejon Hodges
GINGA DA BAHIA (IRENIO DOS SANTOS)
Prayer of Fire
Dancer: Ginga da Bahia
JULIAN HINES AND ANEKA MCMULLEN
Tap In
Dancers: Aneka McMullen, Averie Mitchell-Brown, Julian Hines, Nia McMullen, Tamiko French
VOICE OF CULTURE
It’s Practice
Dancers: Alonzo, Arame, Bill Cottman, CJ, Ebrima, Jayanthi, Jordan, Kinyari, Lailah, Nyree, Ravi, Saachi, Sunitha, Yonci
Film by ADJA GILDERSLEVE
Photography by AWA MALLY
Breaking Bread
One hour prior to the film premiere on June 4, all are welcome to bring their favorite food and come together with the Body Prayers choreographers and curator DejaJoelle live on Zoom for a Breaking Bread Celebration and conversation.
Curator Note
Take this time to ask yourself what you're Praying for and who is Praying for you.
Artist Prayers, Suggested Dishes, Biographies
DEJAJOELLE
I Pray
I Pray Daily.
I Pray for Black Liberation.
I Pray for the undying light that sits in the center of our Solar Plexus and guides us through our times of confusion.
I Pray for Breonna Taylor and my Aunt Mae who always used to say “ Well if you didn’t know everything, you could learn something”
I Pray for learning.
I Pray for Black sweat, Black Joy, Black Laughter, Black Vision, Black Innovation, Black Tears, the Electric Slide, and Boo Boo the foo.
I Pray for our deep thought and even deeper action
I Pray for our unconditional love for each other; the feeling I get when I’m embraced by us
I Pray we blush at the sound of our own name
I Pray we always know we are guided and protected and we are not alone. We are divinely placed, with precise purpose, right here... right now
I pray for all of our Poly existances Poly - Realmic, Poly Rhythmic, Poly cosmic, Poly Spiritual, Poly - present, Poly - Love … Poly EVERYTHING
I Pray for our vast spectrum of existence. Of fashion. Of time. Of music.
I Pray for anyone who believes they know us because, for they would be sadly mistaken
We are the indescribable, the undilutable, the intangible, the ethereal, and the impalpable on and in purpose.
We are the Prayers from our ancestors, sealed in their native tongue
We are the Manifestations that give birth
The seeds that possess their own Water and Sun
And for this I Give Thanks
For this...I Pray
Dish: BIPOC owned, Fasika Restaurant: Veggie Sampler
DEJAJOELLE is an African Centered – Healing Artist, Choreographer, Director, and Cultural Healing Curator. She believes Dance serves as our connection to ourselves, our communities, and our overall Divinity. DejaJoelle creates intentional spaces for Black, LGBTQ2, and Deaf community to discover their own practices toward Healing using Dance, Body Reclamation, and other Healing practices. As the world experiences collective hurt and grief, DejaJoelle trusts that our greatest act of REVOLUTION and REBELLION against hatred and corruption is Self-Love and Healing. As she refuses to fuel the fire of destruction and heinousness, she instead focuses her Art and energy on properly handling Black people who continue to be mishandled.
Facebook: DejaJoelle
blaq Instagram: @dejajoelle
AL TAW'AM / IMAN AND KHADIJAH SIFERLLAH-GRIFFIN
Zero
Iman: May it always be easy for me to think, believe, and manifest my best-case scenario. May I reside in the graceful embrace of my ancestors. May I be satisfied with me and my life in all stages. Ameen. Ase. Wado.
Khadijah: I pray to live with ease, prosperity, and abundance in this life and the next. To manifest a reality as beautiful and abundant as I imagine it to be. And dance for the rest of my life!
Dish: Vegan Tikka Masala (Iman), Maafe & Plantains (Khadijah)
National YoungArts Award recipient and the youngest two-time Minnesota Sage Cowles Award for dance recipient, AL TAW'AM (Arabic for “The Twins”), from Minneapolis, MN, is Muslim identical twin sisters, Iman and Khadijah Siferllah-Griffin. Performing since the age of eight, Iman and Khadijah danced in their first show production in 2011 The Joint Project at Intermedia Arts. During a performance of the piece at The Day of Dignity in North Minneapolis, it caught the eye of Rhymesayers recording artist Brother Ali. A few months later, the twins, along with their dance partner, were invited to L.A. to dance in a music video for his album titled Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color. For their performance in Mourning in America, the group won the Minnesota Sage Award for Outstanding Ensemble.
Out of their desire to increase the presence of women and girls in the Minnesota Urban and Hip Hop dance community, Iman and Khadijah created an all-women’s dance collective named S.H.E, which stands for She Who Holds Everything. In 2016, S.H.E won the Minnesota Sage Award for Outstanding Ensemble for their performance of Ninth Inning in Rooted “A Hip Hop Choreographers’ Evening” at Intermedia Arts.
As dancers and choreographers for Brother Ali’s video Never Learn and Mona Haydar’s Hijabi, Iman and Khadijah have performed with world renowned artist Black Violin and at a range of events such as The Nobel Peace Prize Forum, Facing Race, WE Day Minnesota, Sound Set, and The Minnesota Secretary of State's 50th Voters’ Rights Act Anniversary Celebration. They’ve led dance workshops and discussions for prestigious institutions such as the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Spelman College, and Yale University. In 2017, they were contestants on season one of World of Dance, NBC.
Al Taw’am believe that their God given ability to dance is their superpower, and they want to use that superpower to connect and inspire others. Dance relates to every aspect of their being, and their movement is their expression. Their intentions in dancing, performing, teaching, and learning is to honor who they are, where they come from, and how they can give to the world.
BROTHER(HOOD) DANCE! / ORLANDO ZANE HUNTER JR AND RICARRDO VALENTINE
How to Survive a Plague (Excerpt): The Children in the Life
We pray for the health, strength and well-being of all children who are the descendants of the Africans stolen and enslaved throughout the world. We ask the wind (OYA) to carry this prayer to all who may be in need of joy, love, enlightenment, and encouragement. Merci beaucoup Esu for the message. Thank you Baron Samdi for carrying us to the otherside. Ase Ayibobo
Dish: Soul Bowl/Southern Hospitality Bowl (Orlando) and Caribe Bowl (Ricarrdo)
BROTHER(HOOD) DANCE! is an interdisciplinary duo that seeks to inform its audiences on the socio- political and environmental injustices from a global perspective, bringing clarity to the same- gender-loving African-American experience in the 21st century. Brother(hood) Dance! was formed in April 2014 as a duo that researches, creates and performs dances of freedom by Orlando Zane Hunter, Jr. and Ricarrdo Valentine. We have performed our works at FiveMyles, Center for Performance Research, B.A.A.D! (Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance), VCU-The Grace Street Theater, DraftWork at St. Mark's Church, JACK, Movement Research at Judson Church, Colby College, Denmark Arts Center, Universidad de las Américas Puebla/Performática(MX), Escuela Profesional de Danza de Mazatlán/Viso Festival (MX), Jean-Rene Delsolins Institute (HT) and other venues. Brother(hood) Dance! is a Bessies Honoree of the NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies for Afro/Solo/Man.
As a collective, our work demonstrates how life extends beyond its own subjective limits and often tells a story about the effects of global cultural interaction over the latter half of the twentieth century. It challenges the binaries we continually reconstruct between Self and Other, between our own ‘cannibal’ and ‘civilized’ selves. By rejecting an objective truth and global cultural narratives, we find that movement reveals an inherent awkwardness, a humor that echoes our own vulnerabilities. Brother(hood) Dance! considers movement as a metaphor for the ever-seeking man who experiences a continuous loss. Brother(hood) Dance!'s work urge us to renegotiate performance as being part of a reactive or – at times – autistic medium, commenting on oppressing themes in our contemporary society.
COLIN EDWARDS AND CANAAN MATTSON
Foundations
We pray over the black man and masculinity that it’s redefined what it means as a whole and move forward—transitioning into a space of being more open-minded, understanding, patient, and vulnerable. Learn to feel through and understanding one’s emotions while remaining or becoming teachable. Holding peers and accepting accountability while doing what’s truly needed by us as men to lead properly by example. Being a stable beam of support for our community, culture, each other as men, youth, women, queer, and trans alike.
Dish: BIPOC-owned, Cajun Seafood, Saint Paul
COLIN EDWARDS and CANAAN MATTSON choreographed their work for their group, Meridian Plus. Meridians are pathways in which energy flows through the body. Music is energy from emotions made into sound. We are the pathway in which that energy is guided. Meridians Plus is a mixture of various street style movements, African and open modern, collaborating to make a unique visual experience while exploring vulnerable abilities.
Our work is based on black masculinity balanced in vulnerability; going through challenges and hardships can be a lot for one to handle alone. Allowing oneself to feel through emotions, sharing your world’s weight, and exchanging energy with others while in return enabling others to reflect and do the same. This exchange helps heal both parties and carry oneself through trials. Eventually finding, then moving with others into a unified mindset and what we can achieve with that.
GINGA DA BAHIA (IRENIO DOS SANTOS)
Prayer of Fire
The Prayer of Fire is my intuitive connection with the universe, calling for peace, love & light. The vibration of love that I generate within myself, I manifest in the community in the form of poetry, music, and dance. Our axé is the power, energy, or force present in all people and natural things walking their path of spiritual evolution. Our axé reflects the force of our ancestors, including the light of God and the Orixas to be an infinite energy source in the heart of immigrants.
Dish: BIPOC-owned, Himalayan on Lake St; green curry or goat tikka masala
GINGA DA BAHIA is a choreographer, musician, and dance and capoeira instructor from Bahia, Brazil. He has 25 years of experience dancing professionally with groups such as: Balé Folclórico da Bahia and Federal University of Bahia Dance Group. He toured Europe twice as a featured soloist with Brazilian dance troupes Frutos Tropicais and Viva Bahia. He won first place in the National Jazz Dancing Festival on Brazilian Television System (SBT), with Silvio Santos. In New York City, among many events, he performed in “Ologundê" at Peter Norton Symphony Space and was the heart of the Saturday Brazil Night at S.O.B.'s, performing samba, orixás dance, and axé, bringing people together on the dance floor for more than 10 years. Now in Minneapolis, he teaches dance classes at MCTC college and leads the Brazil Arts Twin Cities Cultural Center.
JULIAN HINES AND ANEKA MCMULLEN
Tap In
Julian: My prayer is for us to all fully understand and tap into our most beautiful, restoring and undeniably resilient selves. While always holding constant dialogue with the ancestors.
Aneka: My Body Prayer is for Black people to Tap In to the gifts of self-care that were left for us by our ancestors. My Body Prayer is for Black women to care for, nurture & love on ourselves and each other the same way we do for everyone else. My Body Prayer is for Black people to remember that WE ARE the Alpha and the Omega- we create our own reality.
Dish: Curry goat or Pepper soup (Julian); BIPOC-owned restaurant, Afro Deli (Aneka)
JULIAN HINES - the Jahneral is a Jamaican American multidisciplinary artist, stage production manager and curator. He has performed on various stages locally, nationally and abroad in Asia and Africa. His eclectic training in dance goes from Bharatanatyam, Odissi, West African, Hip Hop and Percussive Step. With over two decades of teaching experience, Julian keeps an unwavering dedication to teaching the art to the youth. Regardless if he is on the Cowles Center Teaching Artist Roster or teaching abroad in Japan. Very fortunate to share space, be mentored and under the direction of the following giants in his eyes such as Saymouka Vongsay, Kenna Camara-Cottman, Ananya Chatterjea, Renne Harris, Michael Sakamoto, Sha Cage, and E.G. Bailey.
It was not until this past half decade where he received the best experience working his way from stagehand to manager then earning the role as Production Manager. His behind the scenes back-of-the-house work has been done for Maia Maiden Productions, FAWK Kollective and Intermedia Arts Catalyst Series. To date his most highlighted work(s) were working alongside Maia Maiden (Rah Fyah) as formerly ½ co- presenter of Hip Hop Dance in Minnesota by curating and producing bi annual award winning ROOTED: Hip Hop Choreographers Evening & Sistah Solo + Being Brothas. Alongside being awarded The McKnight International Residency Partner. This partnership allotted him to co present South Africa’s very own Impilo Man Pantsula to Minnesota for the very first time. Body Prayers will be his first performance after a long hiatus from the arts. He extends his gratitude to Dejajoelle for calling him back to the cypher circle.
Minnesota native ANEKA MCMULLEN is a Dancer, Choreographer, and Dance Educator. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance from The Ohio State University as well as a vast dance skill set which includes Ballet, Modern, Afro-Modern, West African, Jazz and Hip Hop. Aneka’s work has been featured in the award-winning production of ROOTED as well as, the ground- breaking Minneapolis Hip Hop festival B Girl Be, and most recently in 16 Feet: Splashes of Dance Choreographer’s Evening. As a recipient of the Cultural Community Partnership grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Aneka choreographed & appeared in a production of the late Amiri Baraka’s Wise Why’s Y’s, in collaboration with Amiri Baraka and E. G. Bailey. Previously, Aneka has performed with BLAQ an Afro Modern Observance based company, Threads Dance Project, C Dance Company in India, Women in Motion (Ananya Dance Theatre), Black Pearl, Nubia, and In New Company (Brkfst Dance Company).
Currently, she is a Dance Specialist at her alma mater North Community High School and performs Old Skool Hip Hop with Epitome-No Question, of which she is artistic director & co-founded in 2007. Epitome-No Question celebrates the community conscious roots of Hip Hop culture. ENQ represents Old Skool Hip Hop because it best reflects the West African roots of the genre. Hip Hop with the “Hop” in it! Aneka is honored to have begun intentionally offering her Body Prayers in the MN dance community as a 2020 Momentum New Dance Works commissioned Artist as well as, a returning featured Artist in Choreographer’s Evening. Asè
VOICE OF CULTURE
It’s Practice
We pray that we honor each other’s boundaries and bodies and yeah just seek to uplift each other and ourselves through movement and rhythm umm hmm that we hear and see each other....and carry each other through!!! You know?!? And, then we can end with saying I will support you, you know how we do.
Dish: So Açaí bowls
Voice of Culture is a Black Family sharing and creating West African rhythms and movements with a Black American twist. Since 2008, V. O. C. has provided culturally based engagement to the community. We, the people in VOICE of Culture, are cultural artists practicing skills that promote mental health and physical wellbeing as we honor the art and traditions of our ancestors. Cultural arts stemming from the Black American oral tradition are not performances, but expressions of deep values and rituals that have carried us through our journey. The cultural arts we practice are drumming, dancing, singing, storytelling, visual arts and more.
When Black people are healthy, physically and mentally, we are much better equipped to deal with the realities of being Black in America in 2020. We Black Americans need to have a good understanding of our cultural legacy and our history outside and inside of American enslavement and oppression.
Voice of Culture is a nonbinary Black space that respects and explores spectrums of all kinds. Queer Black people are welcome and cherished here. Black Trans Women are welcome and honored at Voice of Culture. VoC has a focus on youth and also seeks to connect with families and individuals of all ages. VoC is not a dance company or a drum class, Voice of Culture is a Black family.
ADJA GILDERSLEVE
My prayer is that peace and abundance surrounds me and Black people across the diaspora. My prayer is that the next life is better.
Dish: Corn bread and butter beans. Greens, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, and lamb
ADJA GILDERSLEVE (pronoun: Adja) is a filmmaker, photographer, and educator based in Minneapolis. Adja spent years as an organizer and agitator on the frontlines and is currently centering their passion and using media as a tool for liberation. Adja is committed to fighting oppression by any means necessary and including practices that lead to becoming a healthy elder. Adja’s dream is to work with Issa Rae on a sci-fi film where two Black women travel back in time to save the world from the zombie apocalypse aka colonization/capitalism. All of this with a bundle of your favorite Capricorn traits. Adja recently renovated an RV with their partner to travel and document queer elders and Black people living outside of the box. Follow their journey on Instagram.
AWA MALLY
I pray for forgiveness and patience with myself, I pray for an abundance of resources and time to create and cultivate ideas with others, and finally I pray for more opportunities to build deeper connections with my mutuals.
Dish: Spinach greens
Photographer AWA MALLY is a driven artist and creative striving to make meaningful work. She aims to reflect the truth of her photographic subjects and the depth of their lives lived. Awa is known for her photography and creative vision on production sets and is sought out by local directors and producers within the Twin Cities.
Accessibility
The live preshow Breaking Bread Celebration includes ASL interpretation and live captioning. The Body Prayers film includes closed captioning.
For more information about accessibility, call 612-375-7564 or email access@walkerart.org. Additional details are also available on the Walker’s Access page.
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