\u201cThe Light of Kinara: In the Spirit of Kwanzaa.\u201d<\/a> Presented by Djapo Cultural Arts Institute for the second straight year, the show is a vibrant, inspiring performance featuring spoken word, music and dance. <\/p>\nRunning Dec. 19-21, the scope of \u201cThe Light of Kinara\u201d goes beyond a Kwanzaa celebration. It\u2019s also about honoring oneself and the community, focusing on, as Talise Campbell, Djapo\u2019s executive artistic director, puts it, \u201cthe light we are called to carry every day of each year.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThis year\u2019s production reflects who we are and how we\u2019ve grown\u2014 deeply rooted in ancestral knowledge, community voices and intergenerational exchange \u2014 moving beyond introduction into lived practice and inviting audiences to experience Kwanzaa as a living, breathing set of values expressed through music, movement and collective remembrance,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The show unfolds in a series of sections, each representing Kwanzaa principles such as Umoja (unity) and Imani (faith). Ceremonial moments, including the lighting of candles at the kinara, give way to dance, with performers moving barefoot in bright, flowing garments as live drummers play behind them. The program draws on traditions from across the African diaspora, including dance from Guinea and a Tanzanian celebration of food. Each piece reflects shared history and collective resilience, creating a sense of community through movement, rhythm and storytelling.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been incredible to hear them rehearse,\u201d said Kim Furganson, Cleveland Public Theatre\u2019s director of audience engagement & marketing. \u201cIt\u2019s not every day that we are treated to the sound of African drums pulsating through the building. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
New this year, each performance is paired with an event before or after the show. On Dec. 19, the theater will host a pre-show panel discussion with local leaders on how the Nguzo Saba \u2014 the seven principles of Kwanzaa \u2014 can guide everyday life. Dec. 20 is Umoja Night, with a post-show celebration with music, light bites and dessert. Dec. 21 is Elders\u2019 Night, which honors those whose experiences and wisdom shape cultural traditions. A vendor market highlighting Black-owned businesses will also be open before every performance.<\/p>\n
The collaboration builds on an ongoing partnership between Djapo and Cleveland Public Theatre, which has expanded in recent years through events such as CPT\u2019s Station Hope festival and Djapo\u2019s Juneteenth Night of Unity. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe partnership has allowed both organizations to reach new audiences and continues to build on CPT\u2019s mission to raise consciousness and nurture compassion through groundbreaking performances,\u201d Furganson said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Light of Kinara: In the Spirit of Kwanzaa\u201d runs Dec. 19\u201321 at Cleveland Public Theatre, 6415 Detroit Ave. Tickets range from $20 to $50 and are available at cptonline.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.cleveland.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland Public Theatre\u2019s holiday programming continues with \u201cThe Light of Kinara: In the Spirit of Kwanzaa.\u201d Presented by Djapo Cultural Arts Institute for the second straight year, the show is a vibrant, inspiring performance featuring spoken word, music and dance. Running Dec. 19-21, the scope of \u201cThe Light of Kinara\u201d goes beyond […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2201459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2201459"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2201460,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2201459\/revisions\/2201460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2201459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2201459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2201459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}