Ayodele Drum and Dance puts fresh steps into traditional footprints

“How we present West African dance is different. We write our own stories and present all of the aspects of the African diaspora,” says T. Ayo Alston, executive and artistic director of Ayodele Drum and Dance. | Marc Monaghan (Marc C. Monaghan)

Long before “black joy” became a hashtag, Ayodele Drum and Dance was cultivating a sisterhood of joyfulness.

“I came to Chicago to dance with Muntu Dance Theatre from New York,” recalls T. Ayo Alston, the company’s vibrant executive and artistic director, composer and choreographer. “After rehearsals, the drummers and dancers would get together at my place or at 63rd Street Beach and drum, dance and kick it. It was never my intention to start a dance company, I wanted to spread love by sharing the different rhythms and dances I learned from my teachers growing up in New York.”