DanceAfrica 1993 opened with a motorcade procession from Harlem to the steps of BAM. Fifty-two members of the Imperial Bikers Motorcycle Club, each carrying the flag of an African country, were joined by the Council of Elders, artists, and dignitaries for a libation pouring ceremony that included a gigantic carrot cake baked in the shape of Africa. The 20th Anniversary Celebration in 1997 debuted the BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble, a collaboration between BAM and the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation’s Youth Arts Academy that has become an annual crowd favorite. DanceAfrica has showcased troupes based both in Africa and the African Diaspora including many from New York. Companies have ranged in style from indigenous African to urban American hip-hop. DanceAfrica has shown that “traditional” African dance is not fixed in time and remains tremendously inclusive and diverse, and that even the most cutting-edge choreography can contain African influences. DanceAfrica embodies tradition, but also a spirit of change and growth reaching back into the past and forward into the future, embracing the links between cultures across the African Diaspora, always bearing the message, “Peace, love, and respect for everybody!” In 2007, DanceAfrica celebrates its 30th festival with 30 Years of DanceAfrica: Remember! Honor! Respect! An African Dance Odyssey, and marks another milestone—its founder Baba Chuck Davis’ 70th birthday. Performance history DanceAfrica DC Since 1987, annually in June, Chuck Davis serves as the master of ceremonies of the Festival in Washington, DC, hosted by Dance Place. DanceAfrica, DC is a jubilant annual celebration of the cultural vitality of Africa and its diaspora in the nation's capital. Inspired by the Brooklyn Academy of Music's festival and under the guidance of Dr. Baba Chuck Davis, Dance Place spearheaded its own unique format and traditions for this vital and vibrant celebration in 1987. Today, Director of Dance Place's African Dance Program Sylvia Soumah serves as Artistic Director and Griot since the passing of our much beloved Baba Chuck Davis in 2017. DanceAfrica, DC is one of the longest running arms of this nationwide phenomena, celebrating over 30 years of education, artistry and advocacy for African culture in our nation's capital. DanceAfrica Chicago DanceAfrica Chicago began in 1990 and is presented by Columbia College Chicago. The Festival did not occur between the years of 2006-2007. References External links Brooklyn Academy of Music The Chuck Davis Dance Company Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts MoCADA New Dance Group Bedford