"Since 1993, the Rhythm of Change Festival has empowered thousands of Brown University Alumns and Community members to build and create lasting relationships centered around dance as activism."
What is the Rhythm of Change Festival?
The Rhythm of Change Festival (RoC) is a place where important questions about what divides us are discussed, danced and performed through the lens of Mindfulness and Self-Compassion practices. It is an embodied and brave space where current and former students from diverse ethnicities and backgrounds co-create, meditate and celebrate alongside global artist-activists, educators, scholars, community youth groups, and performance artists for a weekend of art and ideas focused upon issues of power and grace. The festival welcomes all genders, ethnicities, ages, and spiritual practices.
Originally conceived in 1993 as an immersive, co-curricular experience for enrolled students in the popular Mande Dance and Music courses, it has grown to include local, regional and international artist-citizens who come to share their expertise on Cultural Diplomacy and Preservation, Global Healthcare, The Arts in the Education, Contemplative Studies, and African Performance.
Alums return year after year as teaching artists to learn from each other’s accomplishments, and to dance together as a way of staying together, rooted in the wealth of experience and inquiry that RoC offers.
RoC exemplifies Brown University’s mission of serving the community by convening civic conversations with after-school program directors and community leaders on the importance of utilizing art and creativity as cornerstones to a well-rounded education. RoC is committed to giving free workshops to youth who would not otherwise have the opportunity to work with national and international artists.
Now in its 25th year, Rhythm of Change is an annual festival of Mande Performance and Social Engagement that gathers international artist-activists, educators, scholars, and local communities around questions of identity, for a weekend of workshops, conversations, and performances. Here we explore performance as an open cultural space, as community, and a place for us to gather, to breathe, contemplate and celebrate. These dances, musics and stories align us all with our own desires to be connected to something greater than ourselves, to reach out beyond our comfort zones, and find common ground with those we know very little about. RoC offers a space for curiosity, renewal, reflection and celebration.
Pictured, from Left to Right: Aneudy Alba, Pierre Arreola, Matthew Garza, Michele Baer, during our RITAC 6x6 Conversations on Creative Practice.
WHAT HAPPENS AT THE RHYTHM OF CHANGE FESTIVAL?
Impromptu conversations on civic virtues, educational advancement and the importance of contemplation in academia arise spontaneously from workshops on West African Dance, Mande Drumming, Afro Flow Yoga, Vogue Femme, Theatre of the Oppressed, Mande Folklore and Hip-Hop Dance and Music. Artists from Mali, Senegal, Los Angeles, NYC, Chicago, Boston, The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico engage in all community conversations, workshops and performances.
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