Aya Shabu

Aya Shabu is the creator and spirited conductor of Whistle Stop Tours LLC, a walking tour company re-membering African American neighborhood history through the performing arts. Shabu has choreographed for original documentary theater including The Parchman Hour for the 50th Anniversary Reunion of The Freedom Riders in Jackson, MS in 2011. An alum of the African American Dance Ensemble, Shabu has performed with Ronald K. Brown and Sweet Honey in the Rock, and currently dances and drums with The Magic of African Rhythm. As the Director of Arts and Culture at Village of Wisdom Inc.—an education equity Durham-based non-profit—Shabu helps protect the genius of Black parents, community, and neighborhoods through art making and event curation.

LandED (excerpt)
LandED is a solo narrative dance journey about Aya Shabu, a second-generation African American woman of Bajan descent remembering her childhood memories marred by her grandmother’s colorism, gender norms, and prideful notions of Black mobility. Shabu upsets the  matriarchal curse when she discovers a family secret. Aya Shabu is a 2023 Black Artist Space to Create Resident Artist.

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