Archedream for Humankind is an innovative dance company that uses inspiration from Africa in their music, choreography, and costumes. The East Pennsboro Education Foundation sponsored a recent appearance of the group at East Pennsboro Area High School.

Archedream performs at many schools and other places. They recently returned from a tour in Taiwan where they put on 25 performances. The company is based in Philadelphia. Two of the company members graduated from Cumberland Valley Area High School and others are from this region of the country, with the exception of the director, who is a citizen of South Africa. Drenda Cordeiro, their Residency Coordinator, had a chance to talk with the dancers. She said, “The performers were professional, creative, inventive, and in my opinion, extremely personable and interesting.” I asked her what her favorite part was and she said, “Without a doubt, the costumes!”

All of their costumes are hand painted in neon colors. Black lights are used so that you can only see the parts of the costumes that are painted, helping to create the illusion that the dancers are floating and coming out of thin air. One of the coolest things about these dancers is that they all wear elaborate masks.A workshop was held where students could learn to make masks. The dancers interpret things like war, weather, animals, and spirits. It was a really interesting experience. Olivia Nieves said, “I have definitely never seen anything like it. It was cool for a little bit, but then it started to loose my attention.” On the other hand, Raj Moola said, “I thought it was really entertaining--it was really creative and I enjoyed it.”

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