Braid Tales: It's not just about the hair!

Magic was made at GSU's Center for the Performing Arts on January 26 withBraid Tales, part of the "One More Night" Series.  The show waspresented by Kuumba Lynx and FootworKINGz with a special performance by the South Shore Drill team.  Brilliant is the word that comes to mind.  Bold is yet another. 

People smiling, toes tapping, heads bobbing to the beat, and the show hadn't even started yet.  Braid Tales evoked reactions from its audience from start to finish, beginning with the pre-show music that Jesse 'Dishwasha' Livingston put forth and carried on with precision throughout the night. 

Once the performance began, I was mesmerized.  The show contained a masterful blend of poetry, singing, dance moves, video clips, and pounding beats, mixed within Kuumba Lynx Peace Poets' dialogues of sad stories, vividly detailed language. and lost innocence that kept the audience mentally stimulated, visually entranced, and emotionally affected. 

The performance of South Shore Drill team was dazzling with a combination of fluid moves, heart pumping music, and bold colors that drilled a deeper message into you with every gun they spun, flag they caught, and turn they took. 

The FootworKINGz performed powerfully, invoking a contagious network of cheering and clapping from all around.  With each dance step you felt their journey from their past pains to their present triumphs.  They performed with a graceful intensity and dripped inspiration in every spin, stomp, and twist!

At intermission, I had the pleasure of speaking with Lady Sol, the producer of Braid Tales.  She stated her intention behind the show was "the hope that audiences will walk away with an open mind.  Some parts of our stories are hard to digest but they are our own experiences or real stories of youth we've met.  We want parents to continue dialogue with their children about making decisions about healthy lifestyles; positive decisions and positive outlets, that's what it's all about."

The performers strongly stressed the need for accountability in communities.  Within their tales lay an emphasis on the quest of today's generation for inspiration, which they are misguidedly searching for in social media and material goods, but that they will ultimately find within themselves if they are given the guidance and awareness to look there. 

Lady Sol, if you're reading this, I believe your mission was accomplished.  I left feeling inspired by the souls who shared their stories of pain and redemption and their fear for the future of today's youth.  The tales they told were told with the desire that we, as parents, neighbors, peers, a society, will pass the message along, and that people will realize that any individual, no matter where they came from in life, can "taste their dreams" if they just have the courage to take that first step and try.