The program will feature the work of Director/Choreographer Edna Duffy. The guests include Conductor, Dr. Rollo Dilworth, Chair of Music Education and Music Therapy, Boyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University and Dancer/Choreographer Sanjib Bhattacharya, who runs dance academies in India and has held workshops in India, Europe, and the US.
About Duffy Liturgical Dance
Duffy Liturgical Dance’s curriculum is based in the music and movement of our national treasure: the Negro Spiritual. DuffyLit uses the arts to promote greater understanding and contribute to the educational, social, and artistic fabric of the community.
Duffy Liturgical Dance Ensemble exists to keep alive the legacy of our ancestors, as evidenced in history, culture, and the numerous contributions that African Americans have made to the world through performing arts. Each year the Ensemble engages in activities designed to educate audiences about the significance of the American Negro Spiritual in American history and culture.
DuffyLit was established as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization in 1984 to provide a creative vehicle through which artists could explore the implications of music and dance on African American history and American history overall. The programs which have been developed since DuffyLit’s inception have focused on the rich heritage portrayed in African American songs and dances, especially highlighting the authentic Negro Spiritual and its relationship to the composition of blues, gospel and jazz.
The performance ensemble comprising DuffyLit includes dancers, singers, and musicians, all of whom are dedicated to preserving through performance the Negro Spiritual in theaters, churches, colleges, public schools, and community organizations in the Greater Cleveland community and around the country. Most notably, in 1998, the Ensemble performed at Carnegie Hall. In 1999, the Ensemble performed in Paris and Barcelona. In September 2000, the Ensemble performed at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and they opened two nights for The Nutcracker on Broadway in November 2000. That same month, they presented the Cleveland premiere of Howard Roberts’ "Spiritual Heritage Suite" at The Ohio Theatre in Playhouse Square.