On Saturday, Feb. 18, Temps d’Afrique (TDA), the only African dance team at Hopkins, placed third in the annual Unity African Dance competition sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Established in 2005, Temps d’Afrique is dedicated to showcasing the diverse artistic styles within the continent of Africa as well as the African diaspora.
The competition was held in Richmond, Va. at Acca Shriners temple and featured seven teams from universities around the mid-Atlantic, such as the University of Delaware, George Mason University (GMU), American University and Delaware State University.
At the beginning of the event, when Temps d’Afrique and other competitors were ushered in, the crowd was silent except for a few polite claps. By the end of the night, when the team took the stage in the third round, the arabesque arches of the Shriners temple reverberated with the cheers of the sold-out crowd.
The competition featured three judged rounds: “Freestyle” featured songs of the teams’ choice, “Diaspora” demonstrated the broad influence of African music across the globe and the final round was comprised of songs picked by the judges. TDA made it through all three elimination rounds to finish as second runner up.
TDA has been tirelessly practicing — daily, in fact, since before the start of the spring semester. As a result, each set combined intricate choreography and maneuvers. After the first round the host remarked, “Wow, Johns Hopkins.”
Another said, “You guys definitely had the best formations.”
Those tight formations were a product of a strict practice schedule, as junior Jasmine Okafor said, “We trained for two weeks straight. We would practice two hours every morning and two hours every night. With school and work, it was mentally and physically exhausting.”
But the practice paid off, as Temps d’Afrique became a crowd favorite.
The show also featured guest performances including VCU’s own African dance team whose show ended with a confetti cannon before the final sets. Soon after, Temps d’Afrique huddled together as the host announced the four teams that made it to final round. TDA was the second team to be named, and the members erupted in cheers and hugs, which didn’t last long: The judges had chosen TDA to open the final round.
Taking into account possible elimination, the team was not yet dressed for the final round, so members ran towards the stage with their costumes in tow and quickly changed in the hallway. There were murmurs that TDA went last in the second round and didn’t have time to recover and breathe before another seven minutes straight of high-energy dancing.
During the final performance TDA captain, senior Kemi Oguntona, ran towards the front of the stage and jumped up about four feet in the air intending to land in a death drop position (bending one’s leg to land on the cal). As she came down her foot slipped on the confetti causing her to land on her tailbone.
The team ran forward and picked up her immobile body, holding her up by the arms. The concern was actually part of the routine, but with the misstep it seemed she might not be able to continue. On the intended beat she came to life and hit her moves like nothing happened. She pulled off the routine with such vigor that no one seemed to notice she had injured herself.
After the final round, the four remaining teams gathered on stage and the host announced Temps d’Afrique came in third to the cheers of newfound fans. The battle for first was between two dance teams that had already won before. In the end, George Mason’s Black Mambas won, and a huge portion of the crowd from GMU cheered them on.
After the competition, Captain Kemi told team the team, “I’m really proud of you guys. We definitely made a name for ourselves when we come back next year.”
The second Temps d’Afrique dance showcase will happen on April 15 in Shriver Hall at 7 p.m. The event promises to be filled with the same energetic dances with a dose of magical visual effects.
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