ASASE YAA In the summer of 2001, Brooklyn New York Asase Yaa African American Dance Theater emerged under the direction of its Artistic Director Yao Ababio. With an accumulation of young, talented, skilled and inspired professional artist, Asase Yaa African American Dance Theater was set out to achieve the goal of bridging the gap between African culture and African – American culture through the arts. Asase Yaa African American Dance Theater consist of seasoned musicians, dancers and vocalist with training in various disciplines. The array of artistic skill allows this company to create truly unique productions that encompass experiences and artistic skill portray to audiences the authentic richness of the African Diaspora. Asase Yaa Dance Theater has worked with VH1 Hip Hop Honors Awards, the premiere of HBO “Sing your Song” documentary on Harry Belafonte at the Apollo Theater, Dance Africa Chicago and Dance Africa New York, Kente Arts Alliance at The New Hazlett theater in Pittsburgh Pa, and in 2014 Asase Yaa was featured at the first annual dance festival at the Schomburg center for research in Black culture. Asase Yaa has also worked in partnership with Arizona State University where students participated in workshops and performances. Asase Yaa has also worked with various other Universities such as Bucknell University, Princeton University, Scranton University, and Howard University amongst many others. For the past ten years Asase Yaa has been producing concerts such as Africa a Journey in Dance and Djembe in the New Millennium where dance companies based in the New York tri-state area and Washington D.C. can showcase their art form on one stage. In January 2013 Asase Yaa opened a multi-cultural performing arts facility in Brooklyn, NY Asase Yaa Center for the Arts.
Brittney Belz (Historic Cooking Demonstration) - A youthful fascination with history and a desire to work as a museum interpreter led her to a study of historic clothing and a professional career as a costume designer. After earning a BFA in Theatre Design and technology and an MFA in Costume Design and Technology, she worked at professional theatres and colleges across the country. An initial focus on historic clothing began to transition to a study of all things related to the domestic experience. Her areas of research now focus on both the clothing and foodways of the early modern era. Whether designing for theatre, or at the hearth or classroom presenting historic research, she uses the feel, images, and flavors of the past to help bring every day stories from history to life in a way that allows you to understand more than you could read in book or see in a painting. She currently teaches at Union College, Schenectady, NY; as well as presenting workshops in modern kitchens, historic hearths, and outdoor cooking fires for schools, colleges, museums, and the general public.
BombaYO, ignites the ancestral rhythms of Bomba, an African-derived music and dance tradition developed in Puerto Rico. The synergy of call-and-response singing, drumming, and dance provides the foundation for a dynamic interplay between the solo drummer and the dancer. In the spirit of Sankofa -looking to your past for a better future- BombaYo members draw from the bomba tradition to enrich their lives and embrace their cultural legacy. Through workshops, cultural presentations, performances, and partnerships, BombaYo engages communities throughout the NYC area to raise awareness of Afro-Puerto Rican culture and to connect Bomba to the vast traditions of the African Diaspora. BombaYo creates an intergenerational and participatory experience that honors people of all ages and abilities.
BombaYO will perform on Sunday, June 4 at the Senate House Grounds in Kingston, NY.
The Big Takeover Traditionalists or progressives? Fronted by the charismatic Jamaican-born singer and songwriter Nee Nee Rushie, the seven-piece New York band The Big Takeover plays original music that is rooted in and reverent toward the genres and rhythms of Jamaican pop: reggae, rocksteady, ska. They are devotees of Desmond Dekker and the way the old school did it. At the same time, The Big Takeover crosses lines and blends traditions like global pop fusionists. Their deceptively complex arrangements and big hooks connect with the spirit of Motown and the uptown sophistication of the 21st century retro soul and R&B revival scene.
ELDER LULA CHRISTOPHER, KEEPER OF THE STORIES Visionary, Wisdom Keeper, Spiritual Activist, Healer, Ritualist, Elder Lula is an Elder initiated in the tradition of the Dagara People of Burkina Faso, West Africa. She is a certified Ritual Keeper, who studied Indigenous African Spirit Technology and facilitated rituals with Elder Dr. Malidoma Somé since 2007. Lula is a visionary, social and spiritual activist, educator, and healer with a mission to inspire Black and Indigenous women of color to create physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness that supports our individual and collective healing while promoting social change and transformation in their lives and communities.
Presently, she facilitates Grief Rituals to support those navigating loss related to: death, relationships, jobs, dreams deferred, community, identity and ancestral trauma. Through these community grief rituals, she guides participants to collectively “Lay Down our Burdens” releasing grief, shame, guilt and other emotions; reconnecting to a sense of wholeness.
Lula’s vision is that women’s gifts as leaders and healers are recognized and affirmed and that women’s leadership is continually developed and nourished through all stages of our lives from girlhood to womanhood through our sage years. Lula offers an intensive “Ancestral Rites of Passage” Programs initiating participants into the Dagara Cosmology and the elements as resources for healing and accessing our ancestral gifts.
Chief Baba Neil Clarke will lead a group of Pinkster reenactors who will perform skits and music reminiscent of the 17th and 18th centuries. He is a master percussionist of legendary status. He is internationally acclaimed as a percussionist who has been involved with traditional African drumming and the percussive arts for more than half a century. He performs regularly with and has had long-term musical relationships with artists such as Randy Weston, Harry Belafonte, Dianne Reeves, Miriam Makeba, and many others.
In addition to his activities as a professional performer, Chief Baba Neil (as he is now affectionately called), has been active in arts in education programming for more than four decades as an educator and a consultant. He has designed and implemented programming at educational levels from elementary through college, including artist residencies and master classes at institutions such as Harvard University, Duke University, Rutgers University, Lewis and Clark College, and many others. And over the years he has served as a presenter and consultant for many of the major cultural institutions in the New York area including The Caribbean Cultural Center, the Museum of Natural History, and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, to name a few.
Chief Clarke will lead the Pinkster Walk on June 4 from Old Dutch Church to the Senate House Grounds in Kingston, NY.
TRICIA HERSEY
Tricia Hersey has over 20 years of experience as a multidisciplinary artist, writer, theologian and community organizer. She is a Chicago native who has called Atlanta home for 12 years.
Tricia is the founder of The Nap Ministry, the originator of the ‘rest as resistance’ and ‘rest as reparations’ frameworks, and creates sacred spaces where the liberatory, restorative, and disruptive power of rest can take hold. Trica’s work is seeded within the soils of Black radical thought, somatics, Afrofuturism, womanism, and liberation theology, and is a guide for how to collectively deprogram, decolonize, and unravel ourselves from the wreckage of capitalism and white supremacy.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Eastern Illinois University and a Master of Divinity from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto and The Nap Ministry’s Rest Deck: 50 Practices to Resist Grind Culture. Her new book We Will Rest!: The Art of Escape will be published November 2004. You can learn more about her work at triciahersey.com
Aixa Kendrick (SAG-AFTRA, AEA) is a Stage and Screen Actress, Lincoln Center Lab Director, New Works/Jerome Foundation Playwright recipient for avant-garde work, and a Primordial Art Ninja Starchild. Among her numerous theater credits is her portrayal of Sojourner Truth in Cesi Davidson’s RAW TRUTH, for which she studied the broken-Dutch accent to deliver a startlingly accurate depiction of this exceptional 19th-century freedom fighter. Aixa continues to choose projects that reflect diverse, multicultural female-driven stories that portray women of strength, sensitivity, and discovery.
Aixa will attend the Pinkster celebrations to portray Sojourner Truth on June 3rd and June 4th in Kingston, NY.
Lisa Knowles Lisa Knowles is the Founder and Owner of Partner To Heal. Lisa is a NYS Licensed Massage Therapist and Sound Practitioner. She is trained and Certified by Sage Academy of Sound and The International Academy of Sound Healing. She was the first to Pioneer Clinical Sound Healing and Sound Bath Meditations to the Hudson Valley. Her first priority is working together with clients helping to bring them to their greatest point of wellness using Hands on and Vibrational Sounds. She accomplishes this by first listening to her clients concerns, followed by an assessment using all of her senses to analyze and customize a Therapeutic session to address the root causes of client's concerns. Her genuine passion for her work drives her to continually stay knowledgeable and trained on cutting edge information related to healthcare to better serve her clients.
Lavada Nahon, is Interpreter of African American history for the New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation. She is a generalist in New York African American history 19th through the 20th century. She has 20-plus years of public history experience working with a variety of historic sites, societies, and museums across the Tri-State region. Her mission is to bring history to life by giving a presence to the Africans and people of African descent enslaved and free in the New Netherlands/New York in whatever way possible.
Lavada Nahon will moderate a discussion with Margaret Washington PhD at Old Dutch Church, and teach mancala at the Senate House Grounds on June 4 in Kingston, NY.
AYO Nish! Meet Kanisha E. Henderson, better known as "Ayo Nish!", Vibe Creator. —she's a multi-talented artist, dj, producer, educator, and social entrepreneur.
This vibrant soul hails from Newburgh, NY, where she discovered the incredible power of music at a young age. For her, music transcends mere notes and rhythms; it's the heartbeat of life itself, weaving connections, creating unforgettable moments, and curating vibes in safe spaces.
With her infectious energy and undeniable talent, Ayo Nish! has graced stages both in the US and abroad, sharing her genre-fluid sound that's like a vibrant tapestry of soul, pop, house, and hip hop. From opening for big names like Flo Rida to working alongside industry legends like The Roots, she's carved her own path, leaving a trail of good vibes wherever she goes.
But her journey isn't just about the music—it's about making a difference. Ayo Nish! is on a mission to use her artistry for social good. Through her innovative programs and initiatives, she's empowering individuals, promoting self-esteem, and tackling tough issues like bullying and gang activity head-on. It's no wonder she's been recognized with prestigious awards like the Women of Achievement award from the YWCA and Girl Scouts of America.
And the best part? Ayo Nish! is just getting started. With new music on the horizon and her #DearMonday series bringing joy to audiences everywhere, she's a beacon of warmth and positivity in an often chaotic world. So, come “Vibe with a Queen!” and experience a “Different Type of Different”- the magic of Ayo Nish!.
Aaron Robinson is the Historic Site Manager at Senate House State Historic Site. Senate House interprets the 18th century home of the VanGaasbeek family which also served as the first meeting place of the New York State Senate during the American Revolution. Aaron has over 12 years of experience working for colonial and Revolutionary War era historic sites for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and holds an BA in History from SUNY Oswego and an MA in Public History from SUNY Albany.