By JW Mcnay/editor-in-chief
African-American culture and its influence in the arts will be celebrated on SE Campus to cap off Black History Month.
“Celebrating Strides: Strides in the Arts” is an annual district event and will take place this year Feb. 28 on SE Campus. Last year, the event was hosted on TR Campus.
Each year there is a theme, and “Strides in the Arts” is the focus this year, said Doug Peak, SE student development services director.
“We get to celebrate cultural expressions meaning all the arts: Music, dance, poetry, art, spoken word,” he said.
The evening will be filled with performances and speakers representing each of the arts.
Melissa Young, Dallas Black Dance Theatre artistic director, will speak about the progress made in dance through the lens of African-American culture, which will be a common theme for each speaker and their respective art.
The guest speakers and performances will be a mix of local professionals and TCC students and faculty.
“We’ll have dance companies here from different campuses,” Peak said.
NE’s Movers Unlimited, South’s Continuum Dance Company, SE’s Fusion Dance Company and NW’s Mosaic Dance Project will all perform, he said.
Actress Denise Lee will speak about the strides made by and for African-Americans in drama and theater. A student group will also perform a scene from the play A Raisin in the Sun, Peak said.
Music will be represented with performances by SE music professor Greg Dewhirst and SE music adjunct instructor Peter Rioux.
SE liberal arts instructional assistant Christopher Blay will speak about art in his talk, “Social Practice as a Strategy for Positive Change.”
“I think it’s going to be both entertaining and informational to learn about artists and musicians that have made strong contributions to art and music,” Blay said.
When the performances and speakers finish in the C.A. Roberson Theatre, exhibits will be available to view in the Main Commons and food will be served, Peak said. Spoken word artist ShySpeaks will also perform during this time.
“There’s so much learning that goes on here,” Peak said. “I really believe the students that attend will gain new learning and respect for how the African-American culture has influenced the arts and influenced the world we live in today.”
