Renaissance on Sacred Ground

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Renaissance on Sacred Ground is a documentary about the healing power of African cultural art forms, including music and dance, to transform the lives of everyday people. It tells the story of Ile Ife, the House of Love, an African cultural center located on Germantown Avenue in North Philadelphia and created by famed dancer choreographer, Arthur Hall. The young people who entered the doors of Ile Ife in the 1960s, drawn in by the sound of the African drum, over time became the members of the internationally known Arthur Hall Afro American Dance Ensemble.

Produced collaboratively by the alumni of Ile Ife/the Arthur Hall Afro American Dance Ensemble and young people from the Village of Arts and Humanities, which now occupies the same site, Renaissance on Sacred Ground looks at how a four decade tradition of cultural expression – rooted in African music and dance, has helped nurture and sustain a community. This documentary combines contemporary interviews, video journaling and extraordinary archival footage of performances from the Arthur Hall Collection and Ile Ife films.

The program will be preceded by short films produced by the young people participating in the Village Arts Challenge media program at the Village of Arts and Humanities.

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Community Visions is made possible by support from Bread and Roses Community Fund, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, H. Fred and Karen Clark and Ann Greene.