Aiken Times

Aiken, SC (03/15/2023) — The Etherredge Center will present its final event of the 2022/2023 Cultural Series at the end of March. African Soul International will perform on Thursday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. African Soul is a non-profit dance troupe specializing in drumming, storytelling, and movement from West African culture.

  

West African dance is a way for people to express themselves spiritually and socially during life events such as birth, death, hardship, war, and times of celebration. African Soul International's mission is to preserve the best of this African culture through its art. African Soul does not create their dances; instead, they preserve the African traditions shared for generations. Established in 1998 by Dr. Adama Jewel Jackson, the group is comprised of a professional artistic team based in Los Angeles, along with master artists from Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Congo, Liberia, and The Gambia. African Soul has toured worldwide, presenting high-class performances, interactive school workshops, and corporate conferences.

  

African Soul has also broken into the film industry and been featured in commercials for Adidas and Toyota and even a music video with Beyonce. Having said this, they boast of having touched over 100,000 lives, bringing communities together wherever they go.

  

The group's founder, Dr. Adama Jewel Jackson, created African Soul International to help the younger population in her Cleveland, Ohio, community so that they could learn about their authentic culture. She says this history was not available to her in childhood and wanted others to know there were more than just stereotypes of who they were. Jackson has been studying West African dance since the age of eighteen, amassing over twenty-five years of experience, which she describes as life-changing. She has worked with the National Ballet of Senegal and the Ballet Merveilles and Les Ballets Africains dance companies in Guinea. Jackson has won several Congressional Awards for her work, the most recent being in 2019 for community service.

  

Tickets for African Soul International range from $25 to $50 for adults, with discounts for senior citizens. University of South Carolina students may receive a $5 ticket by calling the Etherredge Center box office at (803) 641-3305. To purchase tickets online, visit www.etherredgecenter.universitytickets.com or visit us at 340 Scholar Loop Aiken, SC. If you have further questions, box office staff are ready to assist.

Original source can be found here.