By AIESHA SOLOMON
Courtesy of Aiesha Solomon
Wearing colorfully patterned, frilled and layered skirts, the NK Dance Troupe was the first to take the stage at Alice B. McCullough Field on Sept. 14, as part of the city of Laurel’s Community and Culture Day.
“NK stands for Ngala Kwesili, it’s like cultural pride,” said the troupe’s founder, Kaosochi Obi. The dancers’ performances celebrate traditions of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria.
“[Community and Culture Day is] an opportunity to bring our culture to a diverse audience,” Obi said. “Igbo dancing is so diverse, in the sense that it’s something that everybody can be a part of. It’s very energetic. It’s a great way of keeping fit, being active and having fun.”
Community and Culture Day, which showcased dances from a number of cultures, also featured more than 30 vendors offering clothing, art and books, along with food and drinks, to an enthusiastic audience.
“We have a predominantly Black [and] Hispanic culture here, but it trickles into so much more,” Divina St. Peter, a recreation programs specialist with the Laurel Parks and Recreations Department, said. “Living in such a diverse area, there’s Nigerian, there’s South African, there’s East Africa[n]. Just in Central America alone, there’s Salvadorian, Mexican, Guatemala[n].”
Courtesy of Aiesha Solomon
The Arte Flamenco de Natalia Monteleon dance company’s flamenco dancers wore heeled shoes that clacked to the music during their performance.
One of the dancers, Carolina Reyes, emigrated from Chile to the U.S. 26 years ago. As a child, she’d adored flamenco,and while she couldn’t afford to study it back then, not s, she has been dancing with Arte Flamenco de Natalia Monteleon for more than 20 years.
“I feel that it’s very important for anyone, any human being, to find something that fills your heart, and for me that’s flamenco, she said. “I just love it. I think it’s a great way of showing your inner art.”
Julie “Asala” Tharrett, who performed an Egyptian belly dance during the event, valued the festival’s focus on creating connections.
“It’s helpful in our communities to learn about everyone around us, and I think it helps to make everyone more aware of how beautiful different cultures are and the similarities,” she said. “Dance is a universal language.”.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, about half of the city’s population identifies as Black,” while about 18% identify as white. Close to 9% identify as American Indian and Alaska Native, and just over 8% identify as Asian; a small percentage identify as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. The balance identifies as fully another race or of two or more races.
“I would love for people to come out and feel represented,” St. Peter said.