Galloway, N.J. – In honor of a contemporary dance legend, students and alumni of Stockton University’s Dance Company will perform a Pan-African dance tradition on the main stage of the Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6.

“Umfundalai X Legacy” is an evening celebrating the legacy of Kariamu Welsh and her Umfundalai (Kiswahili for “essence”) tradition. Produced by Umfundalai master teacher Saleana Pettaway, the concert delves into the pan-Africanist lineage of this contemporary dance tradition, fusing artists from Welsh’s Philadelphia-based Kariamu & Company: Traditions alongside current Stockton students and alumni. 

“What Mama Taught Me” situates dance reconstructions from the Kariamu & Company repertory alongside the dances of movement artists inspired by Welsh and the Umfundalai tradition. This concert concludes a weeklong residency of master classes, talkbacks, lecture demonstrations and rehearsals with the Stockton Dance Company.

Called a “pioneer of African dance studies” by the New York Times, Welsh, known affectionately to her students as “Dr. K” or simply “Mama” to those closest to her, built not only a lasting dance tradition now taught across the globe but nurtured artists like Pettaway who are shepherding those ideas into the future.