Asona Aberade Shrine, Inc.


PRESS RELEASE - For immediate release
Contact: Nana Korantemaa Ayeboafo
215.763.4054 fax: 215.763.4217
1730 North 27th St Phila. PA 19121

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.




Proposed program
for the

Memorial Observance
for
Arthur Hall
Nana Kwabena Afo

October 14, 2000
Pennsylvania Convention Center



To inquire
telephone 215.763.4054
fax 215.763.4217
maama@earthlink.net


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