Passion Rising in the Heart

Damilola Afolabi is Dancing Toward Community…

For some people, dancing is as natural as breathing. Each move is like the rise and fall of the lungs, or the steady, rhythmic beat of the heart. That has always been the case for Damilola Afolabi. He watched, learned and grew in his skill and passion for dance in his hometown of Lagos, Nigeria.

“Dance is integral in the Nigerian culture,” says Afolabi. “I have known from a young age, even in the church, that my dancing was contagious.”

What Afolabi didn’t realize until he moved to the United States to pursue acting was that dancing would grow beyond the sphere of something fun and social to become a bridge to unify people across racial and cultural divides.

“When I first got here, I observed that cultures existed in silos, and dance wasn’t integrated into parties in Redding. This was very different from the culture I grew up in, where diversity and celebration were a daily experience. There was music and dancing at every turn. People speak different languages but have a unified experience through dance. In Redding, I could not find a place that connected people and let them express and experience each other’s cultures in a safe space,” says Afolabi.

In 2020, amid the height of the pandemic and bristling racial tension surrounding the death of George Floyd, Afolabi gathered with friends in a local parking lot to pray for the community. As the group prayed, a man drove up to them and announced that he had a gun. Although nothing more than a verbal announcement of a weapon materialized in that moment, Afolabi heard of other conflicts in the city, and that community members were acting out in fear against each other. In that moment, he began thinking of ways he could help facilitate racial reconciliation in the community.

“My identity as a Black man with a Nigerian heritage living in California took on a whole new meaning for me. It was then that I became passionate about building a cultural infrastructure… to promote cultural knowledge and identity through the arts, activism and education.”

By December of 2020, Afolabi and another local creative, Sayra Vasquez, had launched the first AfroLatino Nights event, a cross-cultural movement that brought people together, using rhythm and dance as a tool for community transformation and development. The goal was to create a feeling of belonging, and seeing people united in dance during the first AfroLatino Nights event unlocked something in Afolabi.

“After I started AfroLatino Nights, I could not just dance for dance’s sake. There was no deep, conscious intention to dance until I saw the freedom and fulfillment in the eyes of the people at AfroLatino Nights,” says Afolabi. “It was the joy of seeing a toddler dance for the first time, or two elderly couples dancing to the tune of Bob Marley’s reggae music. It was the joy of seeing a boy in a wheelchair able to dance with movement even though he couldn’t dance with his legs. Many who came to the dance floor as strangers left as friends.”

On Friday, September 17, 2021, The Park, a food truck hub and performance venue in Downtown Redding, had its first experience with AfroLatino Nights.

“Todd Franklin, owner of The Park, walked up to me and said that he had been in the city for a long time and had never seen a night before where everyone – people from all walks of life – young and old, White and Black, and many different backgrounds – left aside their differences and just danced together. He wanted to do it more. This was a landmark moment for me – the first time someone outside of my circle could see the vision and the power in what this could do to serve our community for good.”

On a regular AfroLatino Nights event, people can be found dancing Bachata, Salsa, Cumbia, Samba, Afrobeats and more. The joy is palpable – and contagious.

“It’s never about your technique as a dancer, but how much play and wonder you are willing to share with everyone around you. Fun, diversity and community are built within people that may not normally connect. I know that part of my mission in life is to use dance to build relationships that last.”

Those relationships, Afolabi says, become a bedrock of relational equity, something people can pull from when it is necessary to have difficult conversations.

“Dance has the potential to bridge divides and foster unity in communities torn apart by conflict or division. By coming together on the dance floor, people can transcend political, religious and ethnic differences, finding common ground through the universal language of movement,” Afolabi says.

In July of 2024, Afolabi founded the Ijoya Foundation. Ijoya, which evolved from AfroLatino Nights, is an organization that seeks to inspire joy and foster unity in diverse communities, using dance as a bridge. Through vibrant performances, family-centered programs and community events, Ijoya is creating a ripple effect of togetherness across cultural divides.

The name “Ijoya” has roots in the Yoruba language from the Yoruba tribe in southwestern Nigeria. Ijoya merges two words: “Ijo” meaning “dance and “o ya” meaning “let us start.” It’s a call to action – literally telling community members that it’s “time to dance.”

Between monthly First Friday events at The Park, beginning again in March, a partnership with Bobby Milhouse Dance that brings dance workshops called The Happy Place to life throughout the year, and local events like the Redding Dance Festival, Juneteenth and more, the possibilities to build connections through dance are endless. Ijoya has even been commissioned to facilitate music and dance at weddings and birthday parties.

Redding is one of 14 communities throughout California that has been designated for its commitment to culture and arts. Amidst the city’s budding arts scene, Afolabi sees as an opportunity for dance to be elevated in much the same way as public art, Kool April Nites or the Redding Rodeo. In 2025, he plans to have an Ijoya Dance Parade float in Active 20-30 Club’s Annual Lighted Christmas Parade. Ijoya is looking for funding to launch a dance docuseries, intended to capture the beauty and diversity of Northern California through cultural dance.

With a bright future of dancing and community building ahead, Ijoya is excited to collaborate with other organizations to host events. The organization welcomes people who share a passion for dance, culture and community to become a part of Ijoya through volunteering, donations and sponsorship.

Afolabi feels an immense sense of joy when he dances, but at the heart of dance, for him, is freedom. It’s a feeling he hopes to impart to others. Each beat, every hand extended, every movement made, every smile exchanged, every divide bridged on the dance floor, is a step toward freedom. •

www.ijoya.org • Find AfroLatino Nights on Instagram