Leanna Browne
Kuumba: A Gathering of Black Dance and Theatre
Performance Dates
Friday, May 22 at 7:30 pm (Doors: 6:30 pm, House Open: 7:15 pm)*
Saturday, May 23 at 2 pm (Doors: 1 pm, House Open: 1:45 pm)**
Saturday, May 23 at 7:30 pm (Doors: 6:30 pm, House Open: 7:15 pm)
*Post-show discussion to follow performance
**Pay What You Can for Saturday, May 23 at 2 pm show starting at $10 (tiers include $10, $15, $20, $25, $30, $35, $40, $45, $50). We are offering “Pay What You Can” for the Saturday, May 23rd 2 pm show to help make this show more accessible for our communities. Please choose the price that feels most appropriate for your situation including access to money and resources. If you’re able to pay beyond the price of the standard general admission ticket of $25, please consider to help redistribute resources within our community.
Performance Length
Approx 135 minutes including a 15-minute intermission.
Leanna Browne presents Kuumba: A Gathering of Black Dance and Theatre. Kuumba is a Kiswahili word, which means “creativity” or “to create” and is the sixth principle of Kwanzaa. She is joined by guest artist, Atlese Robinson, who will share Chores, an experimental theatrical work exploring the mundanity of life's chores as a vehicle for introspection and social commentary. Currently, Chores lives as a solo work where Atlese devised a play that serves as a way to document her family's lineage, document the moment we're living in, and document the wisdom she hopes to pass along to others. Leanna Browne will premiere a new dance work, which explores Pan-Africanism, particularly the contributions of Black women in Pan-Africanism, the significance of Pan-Africanism, and how we can put the values of Pan-Africanism into practice. She is joined by Melissa Clark, Aneka McMullen, Deneane Richburg, and Taylor West.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Kuumba: The Workshops will take place on May 19th. Tickets and schedule are available below.
Sound Bath Healing with Tamiko French: 5:30 - 6:30 pm
Join Tamiko French for a sound bath healing experience. Using crystal and Tibetan singing bowls, chimes, vocal toning, tongue drum, hand pan, elemental percussion, and other vibrational tools, Tamiko guides participants into spaces of rest, release, and energetic alignment. Participants will be encouraged to explore dance and movement through improvisation to expand the collective practice.
Umfundalai with Leanna Browne: 6:45 - 7:45 pm
Umfundalai is a contemporary African dance technique, which means "essence" or "essential" in Kiswahili. Join Leanna to explore what Umfundalai's progenitor, the late Dr. Kariamu Welsh, described as "an approach to movement that is wholistic, body centric and organic." Comfortable clothing as well as lapas (wrappers) or shokotoes (loose fitting pants) are encouraged.
Storyteller’s Soirée with Atlese Robinson: 8 - 9 pm
Storyteller’s Soirée is a guided creative workshop intended for Black artists to commune, explore both performance and writing techniques and genres, and bridge the gap between ideas and productions.
Currently, Storyteller’s Soiree is meeting on the 4th Friday of the month at George Latimer Library.
