It was an honor to present Washington, D.C.-based Step Afrika! in UMS’s 2023/24 season. Founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams, Step Afrika! is the first professional company dedicated to stepping, a percussive, highly energetic art form first developed through elaborate and joyful song and dance rituals performed by Black fraternities and sororities.

Filmed at U-M’s campus during our Step Afrika! residency, this video gathers members from U-M’s Black fraternities and sororities to bring awareness to the founding, history, and legacy of the National Pan-Hellenic Council and its stated purpose and mission: “Unanimity of thought and action as far as possible in the conduct of Greek-letter collegiate fraternities and sororities, and to consider problems of mutual interest to its member organizations.”

All nine member organizations — The Divine Nine — are represented in the University of Michigan chapter of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

Did you know that UMS offers a series of school day performances throughout the season? Performances serve kindergarten through high school students, and teachers receive UMS learning guides to facilitate meaningful connections between the performance and classroom curriculum.

Here’s what two students had to say about ukulele star Jake Shimabukuro:

Find out more about attending UMS School Day Performances.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis return to Hill Auditorium on March 4, 2016.

The orchestra and Wynton Marsalis have visited Ann Arbor many times since their debut in 1994, and during our 2013-2014 season, the musicians received the UMS Distinguished Artist award. This group is special not only because of their superb music making; the orchestra’s dedication to education programs is also remarkable.

Check out these photos from a School Day performance during our 2013-2014 season. The orchestra on stage:

Wynton Marsalis chats with students after the performance:

Happy students in the auditorium:

Photos by Mark Gjukich Photography.

Last updated 4/29/2016.

Editor’s note: This post is a part of a series. View all TalkOut events.

Photo: Alison McCarthy from the Ann Arbor Open School (6th Grade) shares her thoughts.

Our TalkOut project for K-12 students involves speaking and listening (two core K-12 learning competencies) and creating a sharing ripple that allows the experience of a UMS School Day Performance to live on in the minds and hearts of young people and that helps students make connections between the arts on stage and their classroom.

This “TRIMTAB” pilot project was developed with guidance from Eric Booth at the Kennedy Center Partners in Education Program’s February 2013 Annual Meeting by the Michigan 1997 Team: Ann Arbor Public Schools (Robin Bailey), UMS (Jim Leija and Omari Rush), and the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (Jennifer Scott-Burton).

TalkOut encompasses the entire UMS School Day Performance experience. Prior to the start of the show an onstage host provides the entire audience with a framing question. At the end of the performance, two students (selected by UMS and school teachers pre-performance) are invited on stage to share their thoughts and ideas with the entire audience. The feedback is immediately celebrated, captured with photos and audio, and passed on to others for shared reflection.

Here, Lindsay Zinbarg (Saline High School, 12th Grade) participates in TalkOut at the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performance (interviewed on stage by UMS’s Jim Leija):

Interested in learning more? Download the TalkOut Project Description

Editor’s note: This post is a part of a series. View all TalkOut events.

Our TalkOut project for K-12 students involves speaking and listening (two core K-12 learning competencies) and creating a sharing ripple that allows the experience of a UMS School Day Performance to live on in the minds and hearts of young people and that helps students make connections between the arts on stage and their classroom.

This “TRIMTAB” pilot project was developed with guidance from Eric Booth at the Kennedy Center Partners in Education Program’s February 2013 Annual Meeting by the Michigan 1997 Team: Ann Arbor Public Schools (Robin Bailey), UMS (Jim Leija and Omari Rush), and the Washtenaw Intermediate School District (Jennifer Scott-Burton).

TalkOut encompasses the entire UMS School Day Performance experience. Prior to the start of the show an onstage host provides the entire audience with a framing question. At the end of the performance, two students (selected by UMS and school teachers pre-performance) are invited on stage to share their thoughts and ideas with the entire audience. The feedback is immediately celebrated, captured with photos and audio, and passed on to others for shared reflection.

Here, Kai, a fourth grade student at Ann Arbor’s Pattengill Elementary School, participates in TalkOut at the Ragamala Dance School Day Performance (interviewed on stage by UMS’s Jim Leija):

Interested in learning more? Download the TalkOut Project Description