It's been four years since I was last on the continent of Africa.  It's always great returning to work with Step Afrika, a company I spent 5 years touring, teaching and creating with.  This journey brought us first to South Africa for our 15 year reunion of the historic partnership between Step Afrika and the Soweto Dance Theater.  We created new choreography and performed along with some of South Africa's top dancers at the State Theater in capitol city of Pretoria.  The show was amazing, to say the least...we were so OPEN that night.  Old friends have grown and matured.  Some still dance while others have moved on to other business pursuits, yet the bond is just as strong as ever.

We performed and taught workshops in Jo'burg, Soweto, Pretoria, Durban and other rural areas.  Some of the most memorable moments were performing at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls and at a small orphanage outside of Pretoria.  I always think of my parents and how they've always wanted to visit Africa.  Most never get to take the journey in a lifetime.  I've been 5 times in 7 years.  Far beyond being blessed, I truly believe it is necessary for us to travel and experience other cultures.  We're all the same.  We just make different choices based on different circumstances.  But at the end of the day smiles, music, laughter and straight up "ackin da fool" all transfer to every culture. 

Next we took another historic turn in participating in the I' Tro Tra Dance Festival in Madagascar.  It was the first time for an American company to participate in the festival.  We were truly American ambassadors for the arts.  The country itself is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, even in its poverty.  The simplicity in the way of life is pretty inspirational, yet it is so sad to see children, babies and mothers with no shoes on their feet, no money for medicine, kids playing in the dirt and soot of the unpaved roads where the traffic and pedestrians intermingle with no stop signs to speak of.  The children are taught at a very young age to beg for money in a minimum of three different languages.  And boy are they persistent!  Yet there's an unspoken respect...and an alluring sense of pride and dominion, while always keeping a humble and welcoming hand.  There are mixed races of African, Indian and Asian, all of whom speak Malagasy, a blend of some of the 18 different indigenous tribal languages...plus French, since France claimed it as a territory back in 1960. 





 and Madagascar