Assistant Professor of Dance Choreographs "Dancical"

February 28, 2008

A. Kikora Franklin, assistant professor of dance in the School of Theatre, is the co-director, co-choreographer and organizer of the dance and musical performance, “Women Hold Up Half the Sky – A Tribute to African American Women,” to be performed at 7:00 p.m. on March 2, at the State Theatre. The production, which combines music, drama, poetry and visual art performances, will feature the work of world-renowned artist and performer Terrie Ajile Axam, Franklin’s choreography, and dance by Nommo Performing Art Company.

Guest vocalist and former Penn State English professor “Dr. E.” will open the show with a tribute that honors great women soul singers and local community leader and mentor Thelma “Mom” Price.

Franklin has trained for over twenty years in various dance forms under the direction of Terrie Ajile Axam, her mother and founder and artistic director of Total Dance/Dancical Productions of Atlanta, Ga. She has performed in and choreographed productions throughout the United States and abroad.

The production is supported by Penn State’s Institute for the Arts and Humanities, the School of Theatre, the Department of African and African American Studies, the Women’s Studies Program, the Africana Research Center, the College of Arts and Architecture, Educational Equity, University Park Allocation Committee, Forum on Black Affairs, the Josephine Berry Weiss Chair in the Humanities Endowment. Terrie Ajile Axam is a Penn State Institute for the Arts and Humanities Short-Term Distinguished Visiting Professor.

Contact: Flora W. Marynak, fwm1@psu.edu