University Calendar

Dance Series: Panadanza

Pulse and Passage: Rhythms and Stories from West Africa to the Americas

This concert celebrates the embodied histories of the African Diaspora through rhythm, dance, and storytelling. Tracing cultural lineages from West Africa to Brazil, Panamá, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and New York City, the performance explores themes of joy, resistance, and collective memory that continue to shape diasporic identity and creative expression across generations.

Founded in 2008 by Panamanian-born artist Karlies Kelley, Panadanza Dance Company is a Milwaukee-based collective rooted in the rhythms, stories, and movement traditions of the African Diaspora. With a focus on connection, healing, and cultural preservation, Panadanza offers performances, workshops, and community programs that span traditional, modern, and post-modern dance forms—from West Africa to the Americas.

Guided by a commitment to joyful resistance and inclusive expression, Panadanza creates safe spaces for women, youth, and intergenerational communities to move, sing, and play. The company’s work is informed by research, travel, and lived experience, including artistic exchanges in Ivory Coast, Brazil, and throughout the Caribbean and U.S. Through embodied practice, Panadanza celebrates diasporic identity and affirms that dance belongs to everyone—across borders, languages, and generations.

This is a diversity-related event.

Location:	Esch Hurvis Room, Warch Campus Center
Price:	Free
Sponsor:	Con - Dance
Contact:	Claire Schmidt claire.schmidt@lawrence.edu 920-832-6612
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