On December 11 at 7:30 p.m., the dance department at Salve Regina University will present a one-night-only performance, “The Rhythm of Life”: A Journey of Black American Music and Vernacular Dance.”
The performance is part of an ongoing initiative to realign the creative processes of Black American jazz music and dance. Using the frameworks of choreography and improvisation, the performers explore the relationship between music and dance to communicate the rhythms of the human experience.
“The Rhythm of Life” is a collaboration between Salve Regina faculty member Marcus Grant, also a professional drummer, percussionist, and musicologist, and Salve student Trinity Leite ‘25.
“The performance centers around the idea that dance and music cannot exist without the other. The two are tied together through culture and tradition.” said Leite.
The performance will feature choreography by Ashley Blake ‘26, Leite ‘25, and Jala Settles ‘25, as well as improvisational structures curated by Grant and Leite. Settles will also perform her original spoken word.
Highlighting the music of jazz legends Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman, Mulau Astatke, Alice Coltrane and Joe Henderson, and contemporary trailblazers Nubya Garcia and Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah, the performance will immerse audiences in a vivacious and ethereal showcase of authentic self-expression to encompass the complexities of human emotion through rhythmic exploration.
Doors and cash bar open at 7:00 p.m. at Ochre Court, and the performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for floor-level seating are $20.00, standing room tickets at the bar level are $10.00, standing room tickets at the balcony level are $5.00, and standing room tickets for Salve Regina students are free with student ID. Tickets can be purchased online at https://events.salve.edu/.
