Where his dance troupe is concerned, choreographer Jakari Sherman bears this motto: “Once a Step Afrikan, always a Step Afrikan.” No one feels that sentiment more keenly than the star of Broadway’s “Stomp,” Ryan Johnson, who returns to his roots this weekend to perform with Step Afrika and the Washington Performing Arts Society’s Children of the Gospel Choir in three performances at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Sidney Harman Hall.
“I was with Step Afrika as their soloist for six years and I spent a lot of time learning and exploring my art with them,” said Johnson, a native Baltimorean. “Now that I am with ‘Stomp,’ my ear has opened in so many ways and my art has grown. Now I’m just coming back to share what I’ve learned, to help and be as useful as I possibly can.”
| Onstage |
| Step Afrika |
| Where: Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW |
| When: 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday |
| Info: $20 to $49, available only through the Shakespeare Theatre Company box office; 202-547-1122, shakespearetheatre.org |
The art that he and Sherman’s 10 full-time dancers execute so beautifully and precisely has its genesis in the “South African gumboot” dance.
“Historically, the gumboot dances were done by men who worked in the mine of South Africa as a way of percussive communication,” explained Sherman, the artistic director of Step Afrika since 2007. “It was a way they could relieve their stress after a day at work or on their breaks. Technically speaking, the dancers use their boots as a drum. They lift their legs to their chest, lean over and hit the gumboot.”
Step Afrika is the first professional company in the world dedicated to the tradition of stepping. Founded in 1994, the District-based company is a model for the use of stepping in educational settings. The mission, so actively espoused by the group, embraces the concepts of teamwork, academic achievement and cross-cultural understanding.
“In this show, we will be joined by the Children of the Gospel Choir,” Sherman continued. “We have pulled several of our [dances] that we feel are set around the theme of black history. We have also focused on South African works and African-American spirituals in our piece ‘Wade,’ and the Gospel Choir joins us for the song ‘Wade in the Water.’ Most of the program is Step Afrika, but the choir comes in midway through the show and we all make music together.”
Johnson, who lately has been traveling back and forth from Broadway to D.C., considers his main focus in the performance as being an ongoing support to the cast.
“I’m just coming in to be a solid force,” he said. “I consider Step Afrika home and I’m happy to be home.”
