Dancestory2015: Whose Do You Belong

     
ABOUT nzoCALIFA DANCESTORY:
I've been "washed" into a a benevolent network of African-Ancestored Societies with a shared mission that rises above mystical "brick walls" adding a mighty forest of leaves to an  insurmountable number of Family trees.          Tenacious development of my own Family research ushered by my maternal grandparents in 1996, planted a seed of destiny that'd further strengthen Ancestral ties.  As a Professional Teaching Artist specializing in African Diaspora Dance, Drum and Cultural traditions, I creatively incorporate these historical elements into my Dance-building platforms of service - nzo.califa Dance Works. Today #Dancestory2015 bears a repository of Community Family Histories and narratives collected from nearly 50 leading and willing agents, including Master Teachers and Cultural Gatekeepers, who've captured at least 2-3 generations of their Family line.  

                        PROJECT SUMMARY UPDATES

#Dancestory2015 - Whose Do You Belong?! Challenging Bay Area #Dance and #Drum agents to unearth their Ancestral lines and share their story, invoking a national dialogue amongst African Diaspora Cultural keepers and stewards to make the connection and learn more about their story through their Ancestor's walk. 
#Dancestory2015 faciliated the sojourn of at least 20 Dance and Drum agents "Workingdalines "  involving candid conversations about "broken lines", taboo subjects of transgenerational effect to cherished Family legacies of historical discourse concerning the Transatlantic slave trade and the United States Domestic slave trade, while charting the migratory patterns of Family members giving invaluable insight of how "Family" came to be.  
I've further committed to spending focused research combing archives, documents and collecting heirlooms of stories shared from actual Family first visits. With my own Family map in hand, I venture to travel to actual Historical sites and towns where my maternal/paternal #Louisiana Ancestors lived, built their lives and perhaps left a standing legacy.  
I'll research historical benchmarks in the area giving me inference of the times and how my Ancestors lived.  And along the way I plan to drop-in [ invited of course ] and visit Commune+Unity kinfolks along the way of Louisiana heritage -- on the rite track, sojourn with me.

#Dancestory2014 - "In The Lab"

Project Creator / Researcher, R.Califa-Calloway
is a scholarship recipient of the #MAAGI2013 "Afrigeneas.com Scholarship Award"  to the Midwestern African American Genealogy Institute, hosted by Harris-Stowe State University, St. Louis, Missouri, bearing the distinguished honor as an inaugural member.  Under the aegis of a field of experts in Genealogy research, including History Professors, Investigators, Government workers,  IT Professionals & maverick Family Historians, she strives to develop her current research, strategies and documentation methods, to advance her aspirations in the field.