Join us in welcoming Stephanie Tolbert-King back to Art in Motion Pittsburgh as she leads us through an Umfundalai class for adults on July 13th at 6pm. This workshop will be 90 minutes long and for adults and children ages 12 & up. This class is an $18 drop-in early bird and $25 at the door.
Umfundalai is a contemporary African dance technique that comprises its movement vocabulary from dance traditions throughout the Diaspora. The literal word, Umfundalai, means “essential” in Kiswahili. Much like the late Katherine Dunham, Kariamu Welsh, Umfundalai’s progenitor, has designed a stylized movement practice that seeks to articulate an essence of African – oriented movement or as she describes, “an approach to movement that is wholistic, body-centric and organic.” ~NAAADT (National Association of American African Dance Teachers)
ABOUT STEPHANIE: Stephanie Tolbert-King has 13 years of professional dance training and 11 years of experience teaching and choreographing. She has training in a diversity of styles from modern to ballroom. Her choreography has been recognized by internationally renowned adjudicators at several American College Dance Festivals.
She choreographed/performed as a company member for 2 seasons with MM2 Modern Dance Company and Introspective Movement Project. She was Site Director and dance teacher in New Orleans for 3 years with Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective, as well as First Position Dance Arts and Academy of Social Dance (PA). Stephanie was a full-time lead dance teacher at Success Academy Charter Schools, the largest and highest performing charter school network in NYC.
Stephanie is the founder and artistic director of TK Dance Lab, a dance company and virtual platform that connects artists across area codes, and uses dance to advocate for equity and social change. (Instagram: @tkdancelab)
Stephanie is certified with the NAAADT (National Association of American African Dance Teachers) to teach Umfundalai, a contemporary-African dance technique founded by Dr. Kariamu Welsh.