Kevin Spears Set To Perform For Ecstatic Dance
Alexandra Gore | September 27, 2023
Kalimba instrumentalist Kevin Spears is making his return to Warren Wilson College’s (WWC) campus on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 6:30 p.m. for a musical performance. His improvised concert will act as the live music for the ecstatic dance event that evening.
Spears picked up the Kalimba as a kid and used his musical abilities to express a range of emotions, especially during his teenage years. His Afrofuturistic style is inspired by his lifelong fascination with electronics and Sci-fi, which has broadened his vision for the instrument. He aims to become a one-man ensemble by using the Kalimba and other instruments such as a drum machine.
“I want to be the whole band, the whole orchestra, and anything else in between,” Spears said. “I remember sitting in the audience after opening for a Turkish ensemble thinking, ‘I don’t know how but I believe that I should be able to play everything that they’re playing, using the same instruments, all at the same time.’”
Professor of psychology and expressive arts therapy Bob Swoap co-facilitates ecstatic dance. Swoap approached Spears at one of his LEAF Festival sets, where he asked Spears if he would like to bring his music to WWC. His last performance at WWC was in April of 2022.
“He was at the LEAF Festival and saw what I was doing and just loved it,” Spears said. “I think he had to transport me from one stage to the next, and when we started talking we hit it off and we’ve stayed in touch ever since.”
WWC periodically partners with the Asheville Movement Collective to host and facilitate ecstatic dance on campus. The dance involves no choreography and offers a space for people to dance by themselves or with others. Swop describes it as a journey that starts slow, builds up, then comes back down.
“I would say it’s very intentional,” Swoap said. “It’s intentional community building. I view it sort of as a wellness activity for the community.”
Spears plans to bring the Kalimba to places much farther than WWC. He described his vision for the event and its intention to reach far-away audiences.
“I’m working on putting together some shows overseas,” Spears said. “The people that are booking the events want some fresh footage of what I’m doing now with the setup that I’m using. So we were originally just going to get some footage, but then Bob said, ‘Well, why don’t we just go and do an event?’”
“Sometimes, ecstatic dance, the name, scares people away because it’s foreign or can feel like a lot of pressure,” Swoap said. “From the outside, it can look a little hippie, so we try to create a space that feels like a container for people to really express themselves in a way that there’s no judgment. They just move without worrying about what they look like or what we’re going to think of them.”
Students are invited to all ecstatic dance events free of charge. The schedule can be found here. Guidelines for the dance are also attached.
