yodele is a Yoruba word meaning “joy in the home,” and the Chicago-based Ayodele Drum & Dance imparts the joy of these African arts through adult and youth classes, workshops and performances—all adapted for remote modes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ayodele is one of eight Chicago companies that are part of the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, launched in 2019 in a partnership with UChicago’s Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, the Joyce Foundation, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The CBDLP creates a community of artists and gives these historically underfunded companies operational and financial support to help them reach wider audiences and safeguard their futures.
While in-person events continue to be restricted for public health reasons, performances by the companies and conversations with their creative leads are available on the CBDLP website.
Mashaune Hardy
Mashaune Hardy, assistant director of partnerships and strategy for the University of Chicago’s Logan Center and a founding member of Ayodele Drum & Dance, talked with UChicago Magazine about African dance and the CBDLP.
