Dancing for Joy with Ko-Thi

Dancing into hearts February 12 through March 6, 2022, THE DANCING GRANNY kicks off our First Steps Series this season—serving as an intimate and interactive introduction to theater for our youngest audience members, ages 3 and up.

 

Written by Mansa Ra and based on the beloved children’s book by 2017 Newbery Honor winner Ashley Bryan, THE DANCING GRANNY tells the African folklore of the spider Ananse who tries to trick Granny Anika into dancing away from her garden so that he can take her vegetables. Granny shows her trickster friend that with a pal and a song, hard work can be fun. The resulting production is a joyful celebration of storytelling, song, movement, community and the beauty of everyday life.

 

Among its many reasons to dance for joy, THE DANCING GRANNY is the inaugural collaboration between First Stage and Ko-Thi Dance Company.

Founded in 1969 by Ferne Yangyeitie Caulker-Bronson, the Ko-Thi Dance Company is Wisconsin’s oldest African American arts organization. Ko-Thi passionately preserves, teaches, documents, interprets, and performs dance and music rooted in the cultures of the African Diaspora. Without sacrificing their mission of inspiring the community to celebrate themselves and others, Ko-Thi continually diversifies its programming to incorporate ongoing national, economic, and audience evolution with the present-day interpretation of ancient and contemporary African dance and music.

Ko-Thi Dance Company shares their expertise, talent, and artistic vision with First Stage through the involvement of DeMar Walker, Ko-Thi’s Artistic Director, who serves as THE DANCING GRANNY’s choreographer as well as plays the roles of Old Man and Ananse the Spider; Sonya Thompson, Ko-Thi’s Associate Artistic Director, who serves as the Costume Designer; and Sarah Hamilton, Ko-Thi’s Director of Operations & Production, who serves as the Lighting Designer. The production also features live drumming with Kameron “Keon” Sykes and the dancing and drumming talents of Ko-Thi Dance Company’s young performers.

First Stage Director of Artistic Inclusion and Community Engagement, Samantha D. Montgomery

First Stage’s Director of Artistic Inclusion and Community Engagement, Samantha D. Montgomery, directs THE DANCING GRANNY. When asked about the production’s collaboration, Montgomery shared, “I am excited to be working together with Ko-Thi to share this piece with the community. This collaboration has given us a chance to see how we connect and how we teach different things throughout the process. We’re helping each other grow, learn, and build. As a result, THE DANCING GRANNY will be a wonderful opportunity for families to share, laugh, strengthen their bond and enjoy one another as they listen to the voice and move to the rhythm of this African folklore.”

Montgomery’s artistic vision for THE DANCING GRANNY centers on collaboration—not only that of First Stage and Ko-Thi—but of the intertwining of tradition and current. “I wanted to make sure that the voice of the African folklore and the storytelling was lifted up, while also making sure that the piece was interactive and high energy… that there was authenticity in what was happening when it came to the movement and dance as well as the African folklore. Overall, I believe we created a piece that is real, authentic, lively, and fun.” Montgomery said.

 

Ko-Thi Dance Company Artistic Director, DeMar Walker

When it comes to the choreography, DeMar Walker took a cue from Ananse’s heritage. Ananse appears in folklore that originated from Ghana and West Africa, Walker explained. “I pulled a lot of movements from that region and specifically thought about the show in context—being that the show’s about gardening and farming—a lot of the dances are harvest dances.” Walker said.

 

He continued, “The choreography is just fun, fun, fun… in addition to the traditional aspects, I incorporated social dance and modern movements along with dance moves from the 80s and 90s such as the new jack swing and social jazz. Thinking about the continuum and lineage of the dance forms, it is super high energy, fun, rhythmic and just super expressive.”

THE DANCING GRANNY has been a beautiful opportunity to bring together two of Milwaukee’s artistic forces to celebrate the cultural legacy of African storytelling and for both organizations to share what they do with—and learn from—each other. When asked about the collaboration, Walker shared “This collaboration has been a great opportunity to showcase both organizations and the storytelling in a very human way. It’s cool to be able to step into this realm with First Stage and to be able to create something that is centered around family and community while highlighting traditions, cultures and art forms that are oftentimes overlooked and underappreciated. I’m really proud to be able to partner with First Stage on a production specifically like this.”

First Stage Artistic Director, Jeff Frank, added “By coming together, we’re creating something that we couldn’t have done alone. Together we are creating the best version of this story for our community. That’s the essence of a true collaboration. By working together, we all walk away with a deeper artistic understanding of one another and greater appreciation of one another’s cultures. And that’s the beautiful thing about collaboration, is that we all walk away as richer human beings for having gained a deeper understanding of how another artist works, how we can learn from them and take some of what we learned into our art so we grow and expand the possibilities of who we can become and what we do. I think that’s the benefit of opening one’s heart and mind to the world around you. I’m so thankful for Ko-Thi’s willingness to join us on this collaborative journey.”

THE DANCING GRANNY is made possible by PNC Grow Up Great. 

Ko-Thi Dance Company gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of CAMPAC, the Milwaukee Arts Board, Forward Community Investments, the Highpoint Fund, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Wisconsin Arts Board and the National Endowment for the Arts, whose recent support includes an American Rescue Plan grant in the amount of $150,000.