Various styles of dance, live music and monologues address significant periods in American history

The Spirit of the Baobab Tree... a Dance-umentary

Contributed By:The 411 News

The Champion Foundation presents “The Spirit of the Baobab Tree,” the original dance production performed by the students of DancExcel, Champion Center for Creative Arts Education in Gary. This moving tale is returning to the stage once again for the Black History Month season.

Now in its 12th year of production, the matinee performance will be held 9:30am, March 8, 2019 at West Side Theater, 9th& Gerry Street, Gary, IN with the premiere performance that evening at 7:00pm at West Side Theater.

The stage performance and corresponding children’s book have brought African American history to life for more than 50,000 theater goers in Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area over the past eleven years.

Created by Dr. Dionne Champion and Sherice Grant, the story follows Jelani and his classmates as they embark on a journey through time tracing American history from Africa to the present day.

The Spirit of the Baobab Tree features dancers from the Northwest Indiana region. The production includes various styles of dance, live music and monologues that address issues and perspectives during some of the most significant periods in our history.

According to Dr. Champion, “The story teaches some important lessons to readers and audiences of all ages and levels of experience, as it portrays a mythical journey through time based on factual moments of African and African American history. Sherice and I researched over 500 years of historic events in West African and American culture to provide context and historic foundation for the events of ‘Baobab Tree.’”

The story comes together to show how fear, struggle and self-doubt are manifested through many different periods over time, and illustrates the point that getting through the struggles of the present is closely linked to understanding the struggles of the past.”

Tickets for the performance are $10 and may be purchased at DancExcel, 2345 Grant Street, Gary, IN. For additional information, call (219) 944-8066 or (219) 789-0970.


The dance-umentary uses music and choreography to tell a story of how strength, faith, and courage united Black Americans in times of struggle

Story Posted:02/16/2019