The award-winning Asase Yaa African American Dance Theater is marking a major milestone with the launch of its first national tour in nearly a decade. Celebrating its 25th anniversary season (2026–27), the Brooklyn-based company is hitting the road with The Revival: Djembe in the New Millennium, a reimagined production that blends music, dance, and storytelling rooted in African diasporic traditions.
The production, created by master djembe drummer and choreographer Yao Ababio, originally debuted in 2010 but has been newly refreshed for this anniversary moment. The updated version premiered in Brooklyn on February 28 as the culminating event of the company’s third annual Rhythms & Movements Festival. Now, it is traveling nationwide through November, bringing its high-energy, culturally rich performance to audiences across the country.
At its core, The Revival traces the influence of West African culture — spanning Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Ghana, and Nigeria — alongside Caribbean traditions from Haiti and Trinidad, and their lasting impact on urban communities like Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy from the early 1990s to today. The show fuses traditional and contemporary forms, weaving together folkloric dance, djembe rhythms, Afrobeat, hip-hop, rap, and R&B into a cohesive, electrifying narrative. A notable addition is the inclusion of “African Dream,” performed by Talib Kweli, adding another layer of resonance to the production.
“This 25th Anniversary Tour is a historic opportunity to honor our past while looking toward the future of African diasporic arts,” said Ababio, emphasizing the theme “We Strive to Thrive” as a reflection of the company’s legacy of cultural preservation and innovation.
The newly expanded production features six dancers, four master drummers, a balafon player, and a guitarist, along with a live griot performance by Kweku Amankwa Hunter. Costume design by Nigerian designer Wunmi of WowWow by Wunmi and a multimedia retrospective deepen the storytelling, highlighting the evolution of African diasporic arts in Brooklyn.
The first leg of the tour includes several key stops, with performances on April 30 and May 1 in Indianapolis at the Madam Walker Center, followed by a highly anticipated run from May 22 through May 25 in Brooklyn at Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of the annual DanceAfrica Festival.
With executive producer Kofi Osei Williams helping expand the original vision, the tour represents more than a performance series — it’s a cultural statement. Asase Yaa continues to position art as both expression and responsibility, using the stage to celebrate heritage, community, and the enduring power of African and African American traditions.