Muntu Dance Theatre Of Chicago

I love the work and performances put on by the dance company!

I saw this troupe last night at the Old Town School of Folk Music. They are exceptional. The drummers are world-​class and the dancers are impressive. Go see them!

There are times when one needs to attend an artistic event to reignite the soul.
«Oh Sinnerman, where you gonna run to?
Sinnerman, where you gonna run to?
Where you gonna run to?
All on that day»
After heeding Nina Simone’s call, THIS Sinnerman headed to the DuSable museum to see Muntu dance theater perform a tribute to Nina.
I am not a fan of Nina, I have outgrown fan-​dom. I am what some consider a fanatic. A devoted fanatic. In my 30 years of existence on this planet I have only come across a few people who are bigger fans of Nina than I am. Knowing my fanaticism well, the husband treated me to an afternoon of everything Nina.
«Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
Well I run to the river, it was bleedin’
I run to the sea, it was bleedin’
I run to the sea, it was bleedin’
All on that day»
I ran to see Muntu perform when I realized they were paying a tribute to Nina’s protest songs. Anyone who is familiar with Nina’s involvement in the civil rights movement knows that she wrote/​performed some of the famous songs during those trying times: Mississippi Goddam, Old Jim Crow, Pirate Jenny, and my all time favorite and the root of my nickname, Four Women. It is only appropriate that the tribute during Women’s History month focused on Nina’s fight for civil rights.
The performance started with a dance number that invigorated my senses and excited me all over. Four men dancing to the energetic beat of African drums made the audience erupt in a thundering applause. The intro dance number was followed by four women performing Erets Zavat Chalav, one of the lesser known Nina’s songs. Although it is not one of her protest songs, the artists at Muntu related it to the struggles of that time. Erets Zavat Chalav, a Hebrew song meaning «land of milk and honey» shows the allure of «promised land» during the struggle for equality. The Muntu creative team successfully and elegantly converted a religious song to show how the people fighting for equality at that time were hoping for the promised land flowing with milk and honey, just as described in the holy texts.
Following on the heels of Erets Zavat Chalav was Sinnerman. Once again, the Muntu creative team took an old folk and religious song and related it to the current struggles for justice. They adeptly used Sinnerman to depict the injustices that happened, and continue to happen, during hurricane Katrina. All the sinnermen better be prayin’ for the Lord to save them for what they did.
Sinnerman was followed by my all time favorite, Four Women. The story of four Black women — aunt Sara, Saffronia, Sweet Thing, and Peaches. There were not many dry eyes in that auditorium after the performance. The performance made us feel the pain of four different Black women and their struggle to find acceptance during the old trying times. The four female dancers were phenomenal in depicting the four characters.
«So I ran to the Lord
I said, Lord hide me, please hide me
please help me
All on that day
He said, child, where were you
when you oughta been prayin’?
I said, Lord, Lord, hear me prayin’
Lord, Lord, hear me prayin’
Lord, Lord, hear me prayin’
All on that day
Sinnerman you oughta be prayin’
Oughta be prayin’, Sinnerman
Oughta be prayin’,
All on that day
I cried — POWER!!!»
And I prayed, I prayed to the Lord that the performance would never end. I am one of the least religious people on the planet and the performance made me pray. I prayed that Muntu dance theater will thrive and I get to see more of their performances. I have seen many dance performances, most of them are the kind that are beautiful to look at and make you feel happy. It is rare for a dance performance to make you feel a variety of emotions such as pain, suffering, anger, and joy. That is what happened to me, I felt all the emotions. My soul was reignited and my eyes couldn’t cry anymore.
Thank you, Muntu, for providing my version of «chicken soup for the soul».
*wipes off few tears*
(Sinnerman lyrics:
)