Hancher Auditorium

The Hancher will present Drumfolk as part of its 2020-21 season and engage Step Afrika! in a week-long residency on the UI campus and the Iowa City community. The Hancher Auditorium has committed to the creation of Drumfolk as a Lead Commissioner. Inspired by the Stono Rebellion of 1739, Drumfolk explores this little-known event in history that would forever transform African American life and culture. When Africans lost the right to use their drums, the beats found their way into the body of the people, the Drumfolk. New percussive forms took root leading to the development of some of our country’s most distinct performance traditions like ring shout, tap, and stepping.