the Beat

Performed by a seventeen-member ensemble of dancers, musicians, and spoken word artists under the direction of Steele – the Beat features a seven-piece live band, supplying the beat with jazz, funk, Latin, hip-hop, and traditional West-African grooves; seven dancers, utilizing an array of styles from modern to Capoeira, from rhythm tap to tribal Gambian; and three free-form vocalists, whose intense verse and improvised rap provides a thematic context for the music and movement on stage.