Review: Step Afrika!’s THE FRUITS OF OUR LABOR at Arena Stage

Step Afrika’s! The Fruits of Our Labor is a profound celebration of many milestones: the dance company’s 5-year partnership with Arena Stage, the venue’s 76th season, and the nation’s 250th anniversary. The complexity and experience on full display throughout the show contains all the grief, joy, and humanity of each commemoration. 
 

As a privilege of their partnership, Arena’s Fichandler Stage was specially crafted for the world premiere of this Step Afrika! piece to take full advantage of the space. Monochromatic, industrial, and near-dystopian aesthetics grounded the whole performance. Only three sides of the four-sided auditorium were used for seating; one wing became a wide, steep flight of stairs. The center stage was also framed in, defining a deep arena. As the show progressed, performers soared up the steep steps and slithered on the pitted floor. The space allowed them to portray the loftiest joy and deepest grief. 

No area or style of movement was neglected in the narrative. Out the gate with what they know best, the show commenced with tight, militant, synchronized step, and moved with emotional precision into more fluid, endearing, interpretative dance. The continual, sometimes competing relationship between these styles during the show highlighted a recognizable pattern of repression and freedom. 

The complex, tumultuous story of the nation was explored through the typical motifs of soldiers, eagles, stars, and stripes, but rearranged and reexamined. Sermon audio, patriotic songs including the national anthem, and notable quotes were chants reframed and made one rethink every word that our nation was built upon. 

Even before cast memeber Ariel Dykes addressed the audience in order to introduce the cast, the performers asserted their plethora of talents. They were not just dancers, but multi-talented musicians and artists. They synchronized each element—dancing, singing, whistling, and percussion—to produce a multidiscipline album with a track list that was cohesive but never repetitive. 
 

Excellent sound production elevated the musicality, not just with confident sound but with cutting silence. They made music out of everything—from the drum kits tucked into the wings and manned by Agyei Keita Edwards, to feather quills on hand drum leather, to drumsticks on folded American flags. The high-energy, profoundly moving performance style encouraged passionate outcries from the crowd and made them a part of the music.  
 

Step Afrika!’s The Fruits of Our Labor accomplished the Herculean feat of conveying the grief, joy, hostility and community that has pervaded these 250 years of the American—selectively African American—experience of the past 250 years. This production is cathartic for even the most patriotically jaded of us. 

Duration: 80 minutes with no intermission

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