Step into the rhythm: Step Afrika! brings heart-pounding experience to Mercyhurst
Experience the rhythmic storytelling of world-renowned dance company Step Afrika! on Tuesday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. in Mercyhurst University’s Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center.
Better yet, enhance your concert-going experience with a pre-show dinner featuring variations on traditional Southern cuisine. (See details below.)
Founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams, Step Afrika! is the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. Under Williams’ leadership, stepping has evolved into one of America’s cultural exports, touring more than 60 countries across the globe and ranking as one of the top 10 African American Dance Companies in the U.S.
Step Afrika! blends percussive dance styles practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities, traditional African dances, and an array of contemporary dance and art forms into a cohesive, compelling artistic experience. Performances are much more than dance shows; they integrate songs, storytelling, humor, and audience participation. The blend of technique, agility, and pure energy makes each performance unique and leaves the audience with their hearts pounding.
Step Afrika! promotes stepping as an educational tool for young people, focusing on teamwork, academic achievement, and cross-cultural understanding. The company reaches tens of thousands of Americans each year through a 50-city tour of colleges and theaters and performs globally as Washington, D.C.’s one and only cultural ambassador.
Step Afrika! has earned Mayor’s Arts Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education, Innovation in the Arts, and Excellence in an Artistic Discipline and was inducted into the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) Hall of Fame, the first dance company to earn this honor. Step Afrika! headlined President Barack Obama’s Black History Month reception and performed at the first-ever Juneteenth celebration at the White House. The company is featured prominently at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture with the world’s first interactive stepping exhibit.
Concert tickets, priced $20-$45, can be purchased online at miac.universitytickets.com, over the phone at 814-824-3000, or in person at the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center box office (Tues.-Thurs., noon-5 p.m.). Each order is subject to a $4 per ticket processing fee, regardless of purchase or payment method.
Step Afrika! is sponsored by B. Scott Kern, Esq. & Amy Cuzzola-Kern, Ph.D., and WQLN, and the 2023-24 MIAC Live season is sponsored by Scott Enterprises, Aetna, Alan & Patti Schaal, the Greater Erie Alliance for Equality, and the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority.
Pre-show dinner
Patrons can enhance their concert-going experience with a pre-show dinner featuring Southern cuisine. The buffet-style meal, hosted by MIAC and Parkhurst Dining Services, will be served from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. in Mercy Heritage Room.
The menu will include fried pork chops, smothered chicken, shrimp and grits, baked macaroni and cheese, cabbage, green beans & potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, cornbread, deviled eggs, black-eyed pea salad, banana pudding, peach cobbler, sweet tea, coffee, water, and soft drinks. Additionally, each guest aged 21 or older will receive a token redeemable for one alcoholic beverage. Additional drinks may be purchased for $5. Cash only.
Dinner tickets, priced at $40 per person, can be purchased online at miac.universitytickets.com, over the phone at 814-824-3000, or in person at the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center box office (Tues.-Thurs., noon-5 p.m.). Seating is limited to 100 guests.
Please Note: Dinner tickets are an add-on option and do not include tickets to the concert.