April 26, 2024 at the Portland Art Museum
Tribe of SHAMĒN Dance & Fashion show inspired, empowered and embraced the multidimensional, unique Afro-centricities and diversities that are within our culture. This was an experience with runway premieres by designer Shalonda Menefee and performances by Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theater, with DJ Bianca Mack as our mistress of ceremony.
Funding and Support by: The Collins Foundation, Oregon Cultural Trust, Meyer Memorial Trust, Sandra Boynton Advised Fund, The Regional Arts and Culture Council, Oregon Cultural Trust, and the Portland Art Museum.
Premiered February 16, 2024 at Reed College's Greenwood Theater
Across dance forms and theme, RITES OF PASSAGE is grounded in tradition while also looking forward to what we – as Black artists and community members – need to thrive. We draw on traditional rites of passage (West African traditions marking puberty, Yoruba baby naming ceremonies and funeral celebrations) and imagine rituals to celebrate and recognize contemporary transitions. RITES included premieres by guest choreographers Antonio Brown and Derrell Sekou Walker, a new duet by Oluyinka Akinjiola and Michael Galen, and a suite from THE SOUNDS OF AFROLITICAL MOVEMENT. Featured special guests include musicians and youth dancers from Sebé Kan African drum and dance ensemble.
Funding and support by: The Collins Foundation, Oregon Cultural Trust, Meyer Memorial Trust, Sandra Boynton Advised Fund, The Regional Arts and Culture Council, Oregon Cultural Trust, and Reed College
Premiered May 24 - June 18, 2023 at the Portland playhouse.
An immersive multi-media protest journey through the past, present, and future of resistance, promising a transformative experience like no other. The Sounds of Afrolitical Movement is a ground-breaking show, an exploration told through the rhythms and movements of the African diaspora, guiding audiences through seven powerful expressions of protest and liberation.
Co-Created by Ramona Lisa Alexander, Oluyinka Akinjiola, Darrell Grant & Charles Grant. Funding support by the Oregon Community Foundation
Film premier presented by Cascade Festival of African Films & Portland Institute of Contemporary Art on October 10, 2021.
Who We Carry, is a three part journey of ancestral roots in the Ring Shout traditions of the Gullah Geechee, Yoruba Orishas in the African Diaspora, and lands in the Pacific Northwest. Who We Carry transforms grief and loss during the COVID pandemic into an opportunity to reclaim our power. With labor, gratitude, love and power we become our intimate visions for the future. Co-produced by Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theater and Portland Playhouse, and an Elijah Hasan Film.
Funding and support from the Collins Foundation, Oregon Cultural Trust, Oregon Community Foundation, the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, Regional Arts and Culture Council, and Ronni LaCroute.
Short film premiered in January 2021.
We are done asking for a seat at the table, we are building our own. We acknowledge the ancestors that helped pave the way, the lives lost which sparked movements, and the mess that meets us at the door. Using an Afro-futuristic perspective, we want to know how you will show up, what you will give, and if we will ever sit down together.
Premiered Feb. 2020 at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland, OR
For us in the Black community, we’ve always been told “stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.” Ready as in ready for the discrimination, ready for the prejudice, ready for the racism. Well… we are ready, we’ve been ready and now its time to galvanize. Been Ready brings together our five personal experiences navigating conflicts that are inherently imbued with layers of race, gender and bias. With an inward focus we find what makes us ready.
Choreographic works by: Michael Galen, Bethany Harvey, Jamie Minkus, Decimus Yarbrough, and Oluyinka Akinjiola. Lighting and set design: Maggie Heath. Music composed by Cody 'Coflo' Ferreira. Funding and support from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, Multnomah County Cultural Coalition and Ronni LaCroute.
Premiered November 2018 at Portland Playhouse, Portland, OR.
Rejoice! brings the energy of Harlem to Portland by examining spaces that allowed African American arts to flourish and marinade in US history. In collaboration with our dancers, four choreographers and our community ensemble program, we bring life to Shakespeare’s A Midnight Summer Night’s Dream as a poetic through line, incorporating a recreated set of the Savoy Ballroom. This was the first integrated ballroom in the country and an artistic incubator in Harlem. Come experience our take on Shakespeare, and the contributions of artists of color throughout history.
Choreography by Oluyinka Akinjiola, Jamie Minkus, Michael Galen, Decimus Yarbrough, Bethany Harvey. Funding and support from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, Multnomah County Cultural Coalition and Ronni LaCroute.
Premiered Oct. 2017 at Reed College, Portland, OR
UPRISE features a body of choreographic works addressing power, oppression, and community. Inspired by Angela Davis’ desire to see liberation movements become intersectional, we are bringing expression to the many ways race, class, culture, and history influence power.
Funding and support from the Regional Arts and Culture Council and the Oregon Arts Commission.
Premiered June 2017 at Portland Playhouse, Portland, OR
A celebration of life, triumph and humanity imbued with Brazilian music. ALEGRIA! continues with the Rejoice! tradition by fusing the joyful expressions of folklore, Brazilian, Caribbean, and contemporary dance to form "contemporary folklore."
Choreographic works by Oluyinka Akinjiola, Uriah Boyd, Dar Vejon Jones, Jamie Minkus and Andrea Whittle. Lighting Design: Robin Greenwood Musical guests: Andy Sterling, Rudy Slizewski, Hans Barklis. A collaboration with BCC: Brown Hall with funding from the Regional Arts and Culture Council
Premiered Januaray 2017 at New Expressive Works, Portland, OR
The work is inspired by Oluyinka's trip to Nigeria, the passing of her grandmother, and experiencing funeral celebrations in Nigeria. Oluyinka’s artistic investigation of contemporary dance and African Folklore explores the presence of traditional Yoruba culture in a fast changing society in Nigeria. Surrounded by a spiraling recession and government corruption, Ibukun/The Celebration is a dedication to female leadership, maintenance of familial bonds and cultural preservation.
Choreographic work by Oluyinka Akinjiola. Musical guests: Nojeem Lasisi (Jujuba), Rudy Slizewski (TapWater & Scott Pemberton Band), and Jeff Burres
Premiered June 2016 at Headwaters Theater, Portland, OR
Choreographic works by Oluyinka Akinjiola, Dar Vejon Jones, Jamie Minkus, and Michael Galen. Lighting Design: Robin Greenwood Featured guests: Rudy Slizewksi, Okaidja Afroso
Premiered June 2015 at Performance Works NW, Portland, OR
Includes the following works: Onward; Phenomenally; Been Restless; Sentiments of Ogun; Oshun, Xica, and the Sambista
No amount is too small. Give $25, $50, $100 or whatever calls to you. Rejoice! is a Non Profit Organization committed to bringing high artistic quality to the Portland Community and beyond. Every donation makes a difference.
Rejoice! is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, making your donation tax deductible. Tax ID #84-2709421
