Courtesy of Amara Arts
Amara Arts dancer Samantha Madison performs a choreography by Danny Reise. Amara Arts will perform at the riverside times Art A’Fair on June 23.
Amara Arts’ new piece, “Speak,” examines how “the Afro-Brazilian movement allows us to reclaim space and speak with our bodies.” The company will showcase that work, and others, with an upcoming presentation at the riverside times Art A’Fair on June 23.
“I just finished grad school, so I’m in this very experimental mode,” says founder Charis Railey. “We also have a fun interactive segment planned that plays on the idea of the conversation between the audience, the dancer, and the artistic experience that we are all creating.”
Like much of the St. Louis dance company’s work, it is informative and interactive, blurring the divide between artist and audience. True to the roots of Afro-diasporic dances, the wall between viewer and performer is “permeable,” says Railey. While European art traditions encourage passive audience observation, African art traditions allow viewers to connect and contribute to the performance.
Inspired by playing instruments with an African storytelling performance company as a child, Charis created Amara Arts in 2018 to be a “dance company focused on the arts of the African Diaspora in the Americas.”
The Atlantic slave trade robbed more than 12 million people from a dizzying array of cultures across the African continent to live and work in unspeakable conditions across the Americas, creating the African American Diaspora. Crossing the ocean to remember and adapt the traditions of the homeland to their new surroundings helped Africans to survive in the New World.
People of African descent emerged from generations of slavery and discrimination in the New World with a wide collection of dances to promote well-being and resilience. From hip hop and salsa to samba and tap dancing, these art forms reflect community and strength despite historical circumstances, Railey says.
Informed by Railey’s background in anthropology and Dunham’s technique, Amara Arts weaves this history throughout her performances. Created by Katherine Dunham and inspired by her anthropological work, the Dunham technique heavily incorporates elements of African and Afro-Caribbean dance. Dunham’s work broke barriers by combining performance art with cultural understanding, an approach Charis emulates.
“I have a strong focus on learning the original context, culture, and history of a dance before putting it in my context,” she says. This approach allows the audience to understand and connect with the dances. Charis fondly recalls being told by some audience members after a show that “we don’t speak Portuguese and we don’t know anything about samba, but we felt the weight of what you were doing.”
“That’s what we want people to take away from our performances,” says Charis. “Even if we can’t verbally explain the context and story behind a dance, we want them to feel the weight. For example, if we are dancing the samba, people see the bikinis, the feathers and the pretty girls in costumes, but we also want them to see the sense of community that the dance promotes.”
Amara Arts tours the St. Louis area and surrounding regions such as Indiana and Illinois, performing at venues ranging from birthday parties to cultural celebrations, inspired by the feedback they receive.
“I like performances where I can connect and see how it affects people,” says Charis. “Hopefully, after the performance they will find someone to take dance classes with and continue listening to music and dancing in their living rooms.”
Enjoy Amara Arts at the riverside times‘ Art A’Fair on Thursday June 23. Tickets are $25 online and at the door. Read more about it here.
