Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute

In Partnership with Mandinga LLC

Presents a Screening of the Documentary

CLYDE ALAFIJU MORGAN:

IN BAHIA BETWEEN AMERICA AND AFRICA

 

Directed by João da Costa Pinto

Event Includes Discussion and Q & A

January 7, 2021 @ 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

“An American, Clyde is from Bahia, body and soul, in dance, music and religion, synthesizing the union

 of the American and African worlds.” - João da Costa Pinto

 New York, New York -- The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) is pleased to present as part of the ongoing Zumbi  Afro Bahia Cultural Program Series a screening of the documentary, CLYDE ALAFIJU MORGAN: IN BAHIA BETWEEN AMERICA AND AFRICA directed by João da Costa Pinto. This virtual event will include discussion and  Q& A with Emeritus Professor Clyde Morgan.   Zumbi is a multi part series running from November 2020 - March 2021, celebrating Bahia and Brazil’s Black Consciousness Movement through films, discussions and musical performance curated by cultural historian Dr. Ken Dossar a noted expert in Brazil and Afro-Atlantic culture and is presented in partnership with Mandinga LLC.  

The documentary CLYDE ALAFIJU MORGAN:IN BAHIA BETWEEN AMERICA AND AFRICA celebrates the work and life of Clyde Morgan - teacher, researcher, dancer and choreographer, who for 10 years taught and was Artistic Director and Choreographer of the Contemporary Dance Group, the Dance School of the Federal University of Bahia.

HOW TO WATCH: Visit cccadi.org to view our LIVE virtual programs and engage with comments and questions through our social media platforms like Facebook Live & Youtube Live! Tune into our Youtube Channel and Facebook Live. CCCADI’s digital programs will be featured on our different social media platforms. Visit www.cccadi.org and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel and follow us on FB and IG for regular updates!

Zumbi of Palmares Afro-Bahia Cultural Series presented in collaboration with Mandinga LLC is supported by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.

ABOUT CLYDE ALAFIJU MORGAN - A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, CLYDE ALAFIJU MORGAN received his early theater and dance training at the Karamu House Theater and is a graduate of Cleveland State University. After two years of graduate work in dance at Bennington College, he made his professional debut with the José Limon Dance company. His professional studies in New York include work at the Merce Cunningham, New Dance Group, Robert Joffrey, Paul Sanasardo, and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Studios. He has appeared as a soloist in the companies of Babatunde Olatunji, Sophie Maslow, Daniel Nagrin, Louis Falco, Pearl Lang and Anna Sokolow.

With his own New York duo (Clyde Morgan and Carla Maxwell) he toured West and East Africa performing and conducting research in African music and dance. After completing years of service on the New York stage, he began the second phase of his career in Brazil where he held the position of Choreographer and Artistic Director of the Grupo de Danca Contemporanea da Universidade Federal Da Bahia in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. He then taught at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee where he co-founded with Claudia Melrose, Melrose and Morgan in Concert. A Leader and Specialist Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of State and a Fulbright Professorship allowed Morgan to continue international teaching and performing in Haiti, Brazil, and West Africa from 1984-86.

Until 2015, he held the position of Associate Professor of African Dance and served as the artistic director of the Sankofa African Dance and Drum Ensemble at SUNY College at Brockport, and he was the College Senate representative of the Department of Dance. In 1993, Associate Professor Morgan was the first artist to be selected as Young Audience Inc. "Artist of the Year" and he was affiliated with their chapters nationwide. On successive occasions, he was indicated as one of "SUNY's Best" in the recruitment initiative of SUNY Central in New York City.

In the effort to strengthen the College's institutional linkages with other NY state entities, he  presented the Sankofa African Dance and Drum Ensemble at a variety of cultural venues on the campuses of the University of Buffalo, University of Rochester, St. John Fisher College, SUNY Cortland, Princeton University and The University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.  Sankofa evolved into the flagship of international relations and interactions on the college campus, at conferences, festivals and ceremonies not only because of its roster of national and international contributing artists and students but also in terms of its outreach initiatives.