Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) made an appearance at Florida A&M University for the 2016 Artists in Bloom Festival.
The group performed several pieces that were centered around cultural African dance, old school R&B and religious depth.
Dancers and audience members shared their favorite moments of the evening.
Kayla Gantt, a DCDC member, explained her experience at the festival.
“My favorite personally is Wawa aba just because of my experience learning it and the whole process of it,” said Gantt. “It’s not too much, it’s the choreography that makes it my favorite and more so the experience that I associate with it,” said Gantt.
The entire performance left audience members motivated and inspired by the necessity of arts in the African-American culture.
Chelsea Maloney, first-year theatre student from West Palm Beach is a dancer and was inspired to continue practicing the art of dance after witnessing the performance.
“The performance motivated me to get it together. I see dance on campus, but it’s rare that I see dance in that art form,” Maloney said. “Making sure that the arts stay vibrant in the black community. We don’t get to express ourselves artistically as much and companies like that make sure it is continued in our community.
Quentin Sledge, a dancer for DCDC, further explained the significance of performing at FAMU.
“We received a grant to do an HBCU (Historically Black College’s and Universities) tour, so this tour was designed to be the “Young Gifted And Black Tour,” which is targeted at HBCUs. We pulled together some of the pieces we felt most appropriate and we toured around the U.S.,” said Sledge.
FAMU received the final show of the DCDC Young, Gifted And Black season.
“This was our last stop for the HBCU tour, so we tried to make it exceptional,” said Sledge.
The dancers left students with motivational tips in the pursuance of their dreams.
“Follow your dreams, it doesn’t have to be in the arts of course, though we would prefer it to be. Just go for what you want, it’s possible,” said Sledge.