Photo by Jati Lindsay

On February 16, 17 and 18, Meany Center for the Performing Arts invites audiences to explore a transformative chapter in our country’s history. In three back-to-back nights, Washington D.C.-based dance company Step Afrika! will perform The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence. Using body percussion, rhythmic footsteps, spoken word and music — combined with projections of Jacob Lawrence’s masterwork, The Migration Series — the evening-length work will tell the story of more than six million African Americans who migrated from the rural south to the industrial north in the early and mid-20^th century.

The three performances are part of a city-wide celebration of the legacy of painter Jacob Lawrence, one of Seattle’s most beloved artists, and one of the first African American artists to earn mainstream success in the United States. Lawrence lived in Seattle for the last 30 years of his life, and taught at the University of Washington School of Art for more than a decade. Selections from his 60-panel masterwork, The Migration Series, will be projected on the stage as part of the performance. The panels are currently on display at the Seattle Art Museum — the first time in two decades all 60 panels have been exhibited in their entirety on the West Coast.

Photo courtesy Step Afrika!

Step Afrika! is the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping — the percussive dance style practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities. They appear as part of Meany Center’s World Dance Series, which brings dance companies from around the globe to the University of Washington campus for public performances. 

“This project is important to undertake now, not only as part of the 100^th anniversary of Lawrence’s birth,” said Meany Center Executive & Artist Director Michelle Witt, “but also as part of the UW’s participation in the vitally important conversations about African American identity taking place across the country, and the current migrations happening around the world that are such a focus of contemporary national and international politics.”

For a complete list of Jacob Lawrence Celebration exhibitions, performances and happenings, visit meanycenter.org.