African Rhythm
August 1st, 2008 by Beth Bartholomew
To look at clean-cut, well-spoken Corry Owens, 18, it is hard to believe he was ever a troublemaker. You know the type – quick to argue, picks on his siblings, gets in trouble a lot, doesn’t really care about school.
Then a few years ago the 2008 Whitehaven High School graduate watched a performing arts group called Watoto De Afrika at a Memphis Grizzlies game. He wanted to be a part of the group because he loved its dancing style and high energy. But soon Owens learned Watoto was much more than just a dance troupe.
“Watoto made me change my ways. I was acting out for attention,” says Owens, who will attend the University of Memphis this fall. “It was the atmosphere at rehearsals. The other kids liked coming to practice on Saturdays and the performances. I didn’t take school very seriously. My friends were troublemakers. I acted the way they did. I thought that was the way I was supposed to act.”
Watoto De Afrika, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is a performance troupe made up of African-American children ages 5 to 18 from the Memphis area. It was founded by Memphis native Donald O’Conner, who spent several years in the music industry working with performers such as Chaka Khan and Marvin Gaye. Watoto is Swahili for “children.” The group uses Afro-centric performing arts and literary styles to teach children about the history of their ancestors, from Africa to contemporary America.
The group, which rehearses on Saturdays and five days a week during the summer, is held to high standards. They’re not allowed to bring junk food to rehearsals, only healthy items such as salads, wraps, fresh fruit, yogurt, and water. (Students must also maintain a 2.5 grade point average to perform.) The dynamic, energetic choreography requires students to be in top physical form. “It helps me stay in shape,” says Kelsey Muskin, 16, a Southwind High School student.
From grass roots to world stage
Watoto De Afrika started one summer day in 1987 at a South Memphis park where O’Conner worked out regularly. The 1970 Douglass High School graduate had moved back to Memphis and was staying with his mother. He saw many children in the neighborhood with nothing to do and knew they were at risk.
“The only difference between me and those children was music,” says O’Conner, who grew up in Binghampton. “It exposed me to so much. I’m a big believer in exposure. I was street-savvy and could connect with them because they were right where I used to be.”
That first day he led three or four children in impromptu singing and dancing after he had finished his regular workout. “After we finished they said ‘what are we going to do tomorrow?’” says O’Conner, a former Memphis City Schools music teacher.
He didn’t think much about it, but when he went back to the park the next day the children were waiting. By the end of the summer the group grew to 20 children and O’Conner became known as “the man who works with the kids on Third Street.” For 10 years, his program continued, financed with money O’Conner made working extra jobs as a musician and part-time church music minister.
In the mid-1990s, a series of coincidences propelled the youngsters to national and international stages. In 1993, the group performed for the Memphis City Schools Board of Education. After the performance, then school board member Maxine Smith, who was also on the NAACP board, asked Watoto to perform for an NAACP event featuring President Bill Clinton at the Peabody. (Vice President Al Gore ended up attending in his place.)
C-SPAN televised the event, which was seen by the prime minister of Italy who had tuned in to hear Vice President Gore’s remarks. The prime minister called O’Conner and asked the group to perform at a Renaissance festival in Italy. While waiting at O’Hare Airport for their connecting flight to Italy, the group rehearsed. Whitney Houston’s mother was rushing by but stopped to watch them. She told O’Conner she thought the children would be a wonderful addition to a British Broadcasting Corp. documentary called The Story of Gospel Music.A crew traveled to Memphis to film the children and interview O’Conner.
While the troupe was in Italy, the King and Queen of San Marino (a landlocked republic completed surrounded by Italy) saw their performance on Italian cable and asked the group to swing by the castle to perform.
They’ve also performed locally at events such as the Latino Festival, National Civil Rights Museum and Watotofest at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre. Along the way, Watoto has attracted corporate support from donors such as Cummins, International Paper, Black Women of Philanthropy, and Arts Memphis.
Developing better citizens
But Watoto is much more than dance, says O’Conner, who holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Memphis and a master of divinity from Vanderbilt University. Before students begin rehearsing a new piece, he tells them the history behind the music.
The driving force of the civil rights movement has been education, notes O’Conner. “The belief was that ‘I must learn more to make a contribution to American society and make the case for equality.’ Education is what our ancestors fought and died for.”
Knowing the history enriches the performing experience, says Victoria “Sparkle” Davis, 17, an Overton High School senior. “You dance while you think of it and the emotion comes through on your face.”
Performing with Watoto also transports students from their everyday lives into another world. “When you’re up on stage you can express yourself and you’re free,” says Julia Boggan, 12, a student at Germantown Middle School. “I forget about all the things that are happening, the stress and problems, and I dance my heart out.”
Watoto student instructor Krashelle Conley, 18, says Watoto has opened her eyes to the larger world and its possibilities.
“I’ve grown up in the ghettos and projects,” says Conley, a 2008 Central High School graduate. “Ever since I was little I’ve known I was going to be great. I just didn’t know how I was going to get there. I was hungry for knowledge.”
She will major in psychology and computer sciences at the University of Memphis this fall and plans to someday own her own robotics company.
Children in the program come from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. This “intracultural” diversity appealed to parent Lisa Hollingshed whose daughters. JaLisa, 8, and Brianna, 6, joined Watoto last year. They live in Collierville and the girls attend Central Day School. The program has helped the girls to overcome their shyness.
“It’s hard for me to imagine where the girls would be outside of here – the spirit, the Christian direction, the love that’s here. It is truly an extended family,” Hollingshed says.
When researching programs for her daughters, Hollingshed says she was drawn to the program because of O’Conner. “His vision is so much bigger than Memphis. It is a global vision. The kids get into that and learn to dream big.”
For more information on Watoto De Afrika, contact Gwen Jefferson at 503-9892.
Tags: african rhythm, beth bartholomew, corry owens, Dance, db kay, donald o'conner, drumming, julia boggan, krashelle conley, lisa hollingshed, naacp, nicolas o'conner, university of memphis, victoria davis, watoto de afrika, whitehaven high school