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City's African dance troupe readies 45th anniversary show

The Wilkies took over from founder Baba Robert Crowder.

Kulu Mele dancers practice at the Community Education Center, in West Philadelphia. (RANDI FAIR / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Kulu Mele dancers practice at the Community Education Center, in West Philadelphia. (RANDI FAIR / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)Read more

IN THE EARLY '70s, John Wilkie saw a performance on the corner of Broad and Diamond streets that he said he will never forget.

Baba Robert Crowder and four other instrumentalists jammed on the sidewalk, accompanied by two women dancing with bells attached to their waists and feet. It was an early incarnation of the Kulu Mele African Dance and Drum Ensemble, and the performance left John with a realization: "Hey, that's what I want to do."

So, when John heard his wife Dottie Wilkie mention that she wanted to study African dance, he knew just who to introduce her to.

John and Dottie, of North Philadelphia, joined Kulu Mele in 1971, two years after Crowder founded it. John, now musical director, and Dottie, artistic director, are preparing the group for its 45th anniversary show, "Danzas de Cuba," on Nov. 29-30 at the Painted Bride Art Center. Kulu Mele will be accompanied by the Oyu Oru Afro Cuban Experimental Dance Ensemble.

Kulu Mele's mission is to preserve, present and build upon African music and dance. It's the largest and longest-running African dance group in Philadelphia that is still performing, Dottie said. Comprised of seven drummers and 14 dancers, the group's members are doctors, lawyers, teachers and entrepreneurs.

Although Crowder passed away in 2012, his intense teaching style won't be easily forgotten by the Wilkies.

"A lot of people came to Kulu and didn't stay, because Baba was real rough," John said, dressed in a shirt memorializing Crowder. "He was hard."

"He would stay on you," Dottie said. "He'd point you out if you were doing something wrong."

Crowder began drumming in the 1930s, when not many people were doing African drumming in the city. He sought out teachers, studied African drumming from artists such as Ghanaian drummer Saka Acquaye, and even played with John Coltrane.

"It was hard starting off in African dance back then. It took a long time," Dottie said. "Now, people are starting stuff instantly, because it's already paved the way for them. But back then, it's hard to establish and get known for what you do."

When asked what really made the group take off, John didn't miss a beat.

"Ten years later, when she started being artistic director," John said, as he motioned toward his wife. He said that before that, the group did maybe one or two gigs a year.

Dottie said she made it her mission to study from other artists and incorporate what she learned into Kulu Mele's performance. Some of the places she's traveled to study dance include Guinea, Senegal and Ghana. Dottie said that meeting Deborah Kodish, founder of the Philadelphia Folklore Project, also helped her take the group to the next level. Kodish helped Dottie register the group as a 501(c)(3) and apply for grants.

The group also has been involved with the annual Odunde Festival since its beginning, in 1975.

The Wilkies have accumulated a lot of good stories during their time in Kulu Mele. While preparing for a performance in St. John's, Dottie said, she and the other members were relaxing in a café near a pond, while dinosaur-looking lizards scurried around. Somehow, her chair tipped back, and she got completely soaked - costume and all. She had to perform dripping wet.

That same day, her son wanted to take a dip in the pond, too, but Dottie told him to wait until after the show. He didn't listen, and got stuck in his foot by sea urchins.

"He must have had 15 stickers in his toe," Dottie said. His toe swelled up, and he couldn't even perform.

A performance that went more smoothly was a fusion piece with Jeffrey Page last year.

"I didn't know how I was going to top that piece." Dottie said.

After the show, Dottie was already looking ahead to the 2014 performance.

"I said, 'Next year, I'm going to do all Afro-Cuban dance for a change,' " said Dottie, who has traveled to Cuba many times. During a trip in 2000, she met Danys "LaMora" Perez, the artistic director of Oyu Oro. After attending dance classes together the two maintained a friendship, and Dottie acquired funds for Perez to come to Philadelphia for a collaboration show a few years ago. Dottie decided to bring her and Oyu Oro to Philly for the anniversary show.

Dottie was first introduced to Afro-Cuban dance in the '80s by a Cuban friend.

"When I started with him, I just fell in love with the Afro-Cuban dance with this guy," Dottie said. "I was taking it back to Kulu Mele, started studying, getting tapes."

Afro-Cuban refers to the culture of African people who were brought to Cuba as slaves, many having ancestry in Nigeria and Guinea. Afro-Cuban dance involves particular movements dedicated to individual orishas, or deities, in the Yoruba religion.

In addition to spirituality, family is an important aspect of Kulu Mele. The Wilkies, who have five children together, work with their daughter, son and son-in-law in Kulu Mele. Two of the Wilkies' grandchildren perform in the children's group, Omo Kulu Mele. The couple said they hope that some of the young performers will eventually join Kulu Mele.

"We're passing the torch," Dottie said.

"The old got to make way for the young," John added.

Dottie said that in the not-so-distant future, she'd like to see someone else replace her as artistic director. However, she admits that it won't be a clean break, and that she has to find a replacement for her managing director first, who recently resigned.

"I want to wean my way out, because I like to be around it," Dottie said.