The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence Tickets

Inspired by Jacob Lawrence’s iconic 60-panel “The Migration Series” (1940-41), this signature work from the award-winning dance company uses the images, color palette, and motifs in the painting series to tell this astonishing story through pulsating rhythms and visually stunning movement. Stepping is a dance tradition that is deeply woven into the fabric of American culture, and Step Afrika! Celebrates this lineage, using it as a dynamic vehicle to tell historical stories through a fresh lens.

The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence celebrates the work of Step Afrika! Founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams, Step Afrika! is the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. Under Williams’s leadership, stepping has evolved into one of America’s cultural exports, touring more than 60 countries across the globe, and the company now ranks as one of the top 10 African-American dance companies in the United States.

What to Watch For

• DC Theater Scene called the work "a show that needs to be experienced: a blend of incredible movement, rhythms, and singing." Step into the fun and experience the show for yourself at Arena Stage!
• Step Afrika! promotes stepping as an educational tool for young people, focusing on teamwork, academic achievement, and cross-cultural understanding. Step Afrika! has earned Mayor’s Arts Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education, Innovation in the Arts, Excellence in an Artistic Discipline, and headlined President Barack Obama’s Black History Month Reception at the White House. The company is featured prominently at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History & Culture with the world’s first stepping interactive exhibit.
• In 1940, Jacob Lawrence received a grant from the Rosenwald Foundation to work on “The Migration of the Negro,” which became known as “The Migration Series.” The 60-panel masterpiece was showcased at Edith Halpert’s gallery when Lawrence was 23 years old.