nzoCALIFA™ Dance Works...

nzoCALIFA-- Now, most Movement Artists are never pigeon-holed into one particular style, we Dance to the rhythms and the pulses of our World...My Mom says I Danced the whole 9 months in her womb, trust me even though she was a Dancer too - I was indeed the lead choreographer then. *wink* So it'd be no surprise, I loved and still LOVE to Dance. One of the highlights for a young passionate Dancer of my time is that what you see on TV, turns into a real reality for you. Like what happened for one such Dance Dynamo, my good friend and College Dancing partner,   Jeffrey McCrimon , HE was a Soul Train Dancer !!!          And YES, I'll never forget our L.A. trip to visit him on set and actually Dance upon the Soul Train floor. And the world still loves and celebrates the Soul Train legacy envisioned by the legendary Don Cornelius: Fashion, Music, Celebrities, the latest step --  THE DANCE. But I'll let my friend Jeff tell you all about his claim to fame...

 👑 ANCESTRAL CROWN DAY REMEMBRANCE:  TA MALONGA CASQUELOURD November 5, 1947 - June 15, 2003 #givepraisetolife nzoCALIFA -- At Berkeley High School, we had a phenomenal African American Studies Department and African Dance Program then lead by Dunham luminary and San Francisco City College Dance Teacher Paula McCullum [iba'e] . She taught us Dunham, Afro Haitian, Jazz Dance, Ballet, Samba, and Congolese Dance, all masterfully. Then, it was Bay heyday to easily take a class by any native of these aforementioned traditions as many had migrated to the region erecting a Pan African Dance Diaspora portal like no other in the country.         There were many to trailblaze the field yet to my lineage were the likes of Ruth Beckford  &  Professor Nontsizi Cayou *give praise to life*  to Dance Pioneer Dr. Halifu Osumare , yet the Dance wind beneath my wings was indeed Paula.  She was like a Dance guardian to continue my life chore...

                                Aunt Harriet a Great Woman of Texas  New Year's  Good Luck African American  food traditions. A Juneteenth2020 inspired story :        Many African Americans worship in prayer and reflection proclaiming God's glory to see triumphant days prospered by way of our Ancestors. We shout in praise with unspeakable joy, the deliverance of a legacy of FAITH. For centuries our  Ancestors have held up "the blood-stained banner" of slain liberation fighters, unjust lynchings of Family members, and our descendants of the Trails of Tears.   When the New Year transcends into Emancipation Day, we call this historical time of the year  Freedom's Eve.  Ancestor  Harriet Eliza Evans "Paine" 1822-1917 lived to  tell her story; She is a celebrated Historical Woman of Liberty County, Texas.  foto cr: C.Cullen Histo...

Hailing up the pillars and Pioneering Dance legacies of Cultural Uplift,  Powerful Movement, and Artistic Freedom. Highlight: Video archival footage of 2nd International Festival of the Arts, SFSU May 7, 1987 Fua Dia Congo with  African Dance Queen, Renee Puckett (iba'e) feat. Queen Mothers of FUA, Bantaba, Balle Saba with Sister Linda Faye Johnson, Ta Malonga Casquelourd [iba'e], Papa Sandor, Ta Titos Sompa, Baba Fred Simpson, Baba Yagbe, Baba David Frazier, Gran Abdoulaye Diakite[iba'e] & Community Drum Circle along with a wealth of many more Dance and Drum Elders who tilled the ground and raised the Ancestral Cultural traditions of the Motherland-- seeds planted well in the Cultural Landscape of the Bay Area, West Coast California. MC: Phavia Kujichagulia, Griot, Queen Warrior Scholar & Musician Produced by Baba Tumani Onabiyi for Performing Arts @Tumuba Youtube channel

nzoCALIFA -- As a Professional Teaching Artist/Curator, Advocate and Administrator, I've remained dedicated to investing in the transformational healing power of #Dance and Dance Service.      As our current Global pulse would seem to shift into pandemic motion,  the conscious minds of our natural Earthshakers and Movers keep us connected and aligned through movement, meditation and Spiritual fellowship. As Dance Creatives, we've proclaimed our respective rites of leadership allowing our service to become wellness vehicles of change leading towards social betterment. For this, I too am enlivened by the growing movement of more #Dance Creatives answering THE CALL -- virtually.  Online Dance Classes make it accessible for even more of US to DANCE together... I smile . And, I invite you to tune in, Warm Up and BE IN THE DANCE.  See below nzoCALIFA pix, of  Virtual Classes we're excited about. And do share a good word of Dance kinship: ...

nzoCALIFA--  I'm on a mission targeting two of my favorite portals for  advancing Genealogy services: Libraries and the Community.  Each element is vital to Human wellness and prospering Society,  as both are part of my foundation of service. I create dynamic partnering initiatives for bridging, kinship-building and  stre ngthening Family ties. * Are you a Library, Community Center or Org ready?!  Contact me, let's kinship: email: nzoCALIFA360@gmail.com Instagram: @ReginaCalifa360 eventbrite:   https://bit.ly/2QSA2jN "...to stimulate the invaluable resources of our local libraries while drawing Families IN to tell their own stories, and preserve FAMILY HISTORY."   ~#nzoCALIFAncestry Our Winter Season  initiative is on target to bridge Libraries with Community to strengthen  Family Ties and build Communal kinship. We service from San Joaquin Valley to the South Bay.  Join us in shared kinship works - Participate,...

nzoCALIFA--from the desk of R. Califa Calloway   "I   started my #Dancestory2013  trek thru application for a  Midwestern African American Genealogy Institute  (MAAGI)  Scholarship to its inaugural session at  Harris-Stowe State University ,  in St. Louis, Missouri.  The Institute is the only of its time specializing in African Ancestrered Genealogy, an invaluable Genealogy Homestead whose leadership has blazed trails of inspiration.  Scores of Family lines later, ultimately scratching the shores of Mama Africa, to making connections with my African kinship; my inner quest was fully realized into true reality with renewed purpose.        With fueled dedication, I now take my platform to the very Community portals that cultivate, preserve and practice African Cultural traditions, which have become vital in sustaining the legacy thru the discovery of their African within. There are monumental hist...