Dancers jump and stomp their feet on black floors in front of a mirrored wall. Clad in yoga pants, tights and T-shirts, they learn a complete routine step by step, catching sips of water and standing in front of fans to cool down in between takes. In the corner, three men drum complex rhythms that echo throughout the space. It’s a beginner African dance class at One Village Dance Centre, the new home for two Syracuse-centric dance programs.

Housed in One Village are Wacheva Cultural Arts and Parents Promoting Dance, two separate programs that share the space. Wacheva focuses on multicultural adult classes, like African dance and salsa, as well as drum classes. Parents Promoting Dance focuses on traditional dance classes like ballet, tap, jazz and modern. The two organizations came together about two and a half years ago, when the space used for classes suddenly had to close due to eminent domain issues.

‘We started meeting weekly, putting a plan together, putting a vision board together,’ said Jill Ouikahilo, director of administration of Wacheva. ‘We said, ‘What would our vision be if we could find a space, what would it look like, where would it be?”

In October 2008, they found the prime location – a vacant car repair shop on 117 Harvard Place at the corner of Westcott Street.

‘It was just a shell; all that was here was the cinderblock walling that goes around, and we just did everything that you see,’ Ouikahilo said. In just two months since One Village’s grand opening, both Wacheva and Parents Promoting Dance have seen a consistent increase in numbers.

For student Margaret Moreno, the opening of One Village was a way to continue her dance training. Originally, she studied with Onondaga Dance Institute, and the new space is a huge step up, she said.

‘I really like the new space,’ Moreno, a high school junior from Corcoran High School, said. The opportunity to take new classes taught by skilled teachers is why she keeps coming back.

Donna Bradford founded Parents Promoting Dance in 1999 as a parent-teacher organization for the Onondaga Dance Institute. When that studio was forced to close its doors, Bradford didn’t want to see the students lose their focus. Since the creation of One Village, Parents Promoting Dance has retained 45 percent of its original students.

‘When you get displaced like that and you’re all over the place, you think it could be hard to grab the old people back in or find new people,’ Bradford said. ‘We have done nothing but grow since we opened the doors.’

Wacheva means ‘Unity’ in the language of the Gouro people of Ivory Coast and has a vision of spreading a cross-cultural message along with its dance and drum lessons. The goal is to educate the community about arts of many global cultures, and One Village serves as a center for all kinds of dance and art to thrive in, Ouikahilo said.

One Village’s future as a center of dance education and cultural celebration is a long-standing vision for Biboti Ouikahilo, founder of Wacheva and a teacher of the African dance classes. Born on the Ivory Coast of West Africa, Ouikahilo began his career as a professional dancer in 1980 with the Ivory Coast National Ballet. While his talents brought him to multiple countries and multiple cities throughout his career, he chose to settle in Syracuse in 2003.

‘The way this town takes my heart, I don’t how to describe it,’ he said.

To Ouikahilo, Syracuse has tremendous potential to become a cultural center. From the various cultures that have created lifestyles in the region to the centralized location between many other cities within the state, Ouikahilo said he wants to attach an artistic reputation to the Syracuse name.

Bradford agrees and said she hopes One Village will also be a stepping stone toward a greater focus on dance in the Syracuse region.

‘Syracuse is not known for dance,’ she said. ‘It’s known for Syracuse Symphony, Syracuse Stage, the children’s theater, but dance, it’s not. And that is my future.’

mdanie01@syr.edu

Published on December 8, 2009 at 12:00 pm