On October 14, 2000, the City of Philadelphia will memorialize the passing of Arthur Hall, a towering leader for over thirty years in the Philadelphia cultural scene and a truly legendary figure in African dance in the USA. Arthur died on July 6, 2000 in Camden, Maine, leaving behind a rich legacy as one who fostered the healing and transformation of African American identity and consciousness through exposure to authentic African art forms. He was also known nationally and internationally as Nana Kwabena Afo, the Asonahene, King of the Asona Aberade Clan. This event is being held at the PA Convention Center, 13th & Arch Streets, from 8:00pm to 2:00am.
During his over three decades in Philadelphia, Arthur Hall established the Ile Ife School of Dance, and the Arthur Hall Afro American Dance Ensemble, thereby joining Katherine Dunham, Pearl Primus, and Alvin Ailey in pioneering African American dance in the USA. Hall trained several generations of dance leaders, numbering in the hundreds all over the country, while devoting a large portion of his time to his community, children, and young people, performing continuously for Young Audiences in schools and culturally diverse communities. Arthur directed the Model Cities arts program from 1970-74 and was an associate professor of dance at Dartmouth College in the early 1980s.
Among Arthur’s great gifts, he was a genuine pioneer who introduced unique dance forms in a style that was clearly his own, typically producing long standing ovations by those witnessing his innovative creations. As a truly gifted dancer and choreographer, Arthur’s productions and performances integrated traditional and contemporary African, African American, modern and American jazz presentations.
Several of his dance productions such as Obatala and Fat Tuesday, gained great popularity. Perhaps his greatest gift was how he could engage anyone into a love for and dedication to dance. Individuals literally drawn into dance from off the streets of Philadelphia found an opportunity for renewal and dignity in being an African American.
Thus, it was for many reasons that Arthur was called upon to serve as a dance consultant, dance instructor, and choreographer for dance companies across the United States and around the world. His artistic accomplishments included performances with symphony orchestras, including several with the Philadelphia Symphony. His popularity and genius led to invitations from Ghana, Brazil, Mozambique and other countries to perform and offer instruction, taking him throughout the African Diaspora and Europe. He received numerous awards, citations from several U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, as well as from African governments.
Arthur Hall was a genius, recognized as a truly international messenger of dance, inspiring others through the use of his unique dance forms beyond the stages and dance halls of Philadelphia to stages and dance halls around the world. He believed that African Americans have an enduring culture, identity, and art forms with which to connect and through which they would find healing. Arthur’s message was about the dignity of man and the universality of dance as the carrier of human harmony embodied in eternal rhythms resonating from the heart of Africa.
Memorial Observance
for
Arthur Hall
Nana Kwabena Afo
October 14, 2000
Pennsylvania Convention Center
- Drum Invocation - Spoken Hand Society
- Call to Order - M.C.
- Arthur Hall's Obatala - Film presentation
- Welcoming Statement - Nana Korantemaa Ayeboafo
- Libation
- Arthur Hall & the Afro American Dance Ensemble - Karen Warrington
- Dance Selection, Ode to Yemanya - African Peoples Action
- Vocal Selection, Going Home - Chestnut Brothers
- Yoruba Spiritual Ceremony
- Arthur Hall, the dance pioneer and icon - Joseph Nash (guest speaker)
- Haitian Spiritual Ceremony - Le Peristyle Sanctuary
- To Honor Arthur Hall - Melvin Purnell, Bruce Williams
- City and State Citations
- Music Selection - Marion Salaam
- Vocal Selection, The Impossible Dream - Serenity
- Drum Dirge - Asona Aberade Clan
- Acknowledgement of Sponsors
- Closing Comments - Dr. Robert Rutman
- Closing Prayer - Nana Korantemaa Ayeboafo
- Music Selection, AS - Dar Es Salaam
- DANCE & CELEBRATION - Terry Lee Barrett - DJ