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[MUSIC PLAYING]
LISA NICOLE WILKERSON: Working with Ron is amazing.
I know that's probably very cliche.
But it is.
The movement in the show is all derived from spiritual
dances around the world.
This dance company specifically uses movement
from West Africa, from Afro-Caribbean music, and
northern South America.
So anything that he does in his company is rooted in
something that is real.
And that's part of the reason why when people see his
company perform, they feel the music.
They feel the movement.
They relate to it because it all comes out of human nature.
TREVON DAVIS: There would be times in the workshop where
we'd just do movement.
And he would give us the names of where this came from and
why we're doing this move.
He just didn't teach us and say, oh, you're doing this
because this is the choreography.
He gave us meaning behind what we were doing, saying, we're
giving reverence to God on this move.
Or this-- we're planting seeds.
It was an emotional and spiritual experience.
LISA NICOLE WILKERSON: The reason why he was even asked
to be the choreographer for this show is
because he does that.
This is a period piece.
It takes place in a specific time, in a specific place, and
with people that have culture that is from a
place that he knows.
He's studied in Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
We wanted to bring something to the stage that's not campy,
or hokey, or "esque." We wanted to really be real.
I think he's done a great job with being able to meld both
worlds together and come up with something that people can
relate to and enjoy.
[MUSIC PLAYING]