Tall Spirit - Stilt Artistry of Black Immigrants

The Tall Spirit – Stilt Artistry of Black Immigrants concert is a new concert work exploring the Stilt Artistry of Black Immigrants and the societies from which they arose. The concert is an exhibition of spellbinding stilt masquerade traditions and is presented in a series of suites that unwrap stilt origins and roles within traditional and contemporary communities. The concert premieres the commissioned work of African and Caribbean Stilt Guilds and features regional, national and international drummers, dancers, folklorists and actors. The family-friendly Tall Spirit Concert incorporates aspects of folkloric and contemporary arts in a multi-media framework and highlights more than twenty artists skilled in dance, masquerade, music, and storytelling blended with innovative set, lighting, media, and both acoustic and recorded music. The concert explores the sustained role of the stilt and drummer as; wise protector, an example of communal resilience and the bridge linking the gap between new and old
themes.

The Tall Spirit Concert is presented by DelouAfrica, Inc. South Florida’s leading presenter of traditional and folkloric African arts. The concert is part of the two-year Tall Spirit Project, funded in part by the Knight Foundation. The Tall Spirit project offers a series of community engagements in the distinctive artforms of African derived stilt masquerade. The project activates intergenerational experiences through youth training in stilt and drumming and presents three public performances in 2022 and 2023.