Dance/Theatre Review: ‘The Fruits of Our Labor’ presented by Step Afrika! at Arena Stage
Posted By: Anne Valentino on: September 13, 2026
There are moments in Step Afrika!’s “The Fruits of Our Labor” when the human body seems capable of becoming almost anything. Feet pound the floor, hands strike against bodies, performers breathe and move together, and rhythm becomes its own kind of language. In its world premiere at Arena Stage, “The Fruits of Our Labor” offers an exhilarating evening of entertainment while holding strong to the notion that history is everyone’s to be interpreted, and subsequently reinterpreted, in deeply meaningful ways.
…an exhilarating evening of entertainment…
Created to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the United States, the performance takes on the thorny subjects of patriotism, identity, and inclusion. Directed and choreographed by Jakari Sherman in collaboration with Conrad R. Kelly II and Vusi Mdoyi, the production asks what it means to celebrate a nation whose promises have sometimes fallen flat, if an attempt at delivery was made at all. While Step Afrika! does not reject a celebration of this nation, it refuses to make such a celebration wholly comfortable for those in attendance.
The company’s signature stepping is astonishingly precise—and astonishingly fast-paced. By evening’s end, I truly wondered how the performers were all still standing. Physical, electric, and heart-pounding are among the first words that come to mind. They work as a thrilling collective, while at other moments in the show, individuals emerge from the group, creating a tension between this collective identity and the personal—and history is nothing if not personal. The effect is quite powerful, especially as it is set in Arena Stage’s Fichandler Theatre, where the audience surrounds the performers. We are in the heart of the action, almost as witnesses.
Beyond the stepping component of the performance, Step Afrika! also introduces song, poetry, movement, religious imagery, historic speeches, and stunning visuals. Words from figures such as Phillis Wheatley and Frederick Douglass connect the performance to a much longer American conversation about liberty and what it means to be a citizen in this land of the free. History is the vessel through which the story is carried.
At roughly 80 minutes without an intermission, the production moves quickly but resonantly. You keenly remember the beats, the words, the steps, and the dance. The title is well chosen. The performers are giving us a glimpse inside the arduous process of bringing something new into existence: a country and a show. They use a flurry of moves, mechanics, and objects to create vibrantly meaningful noise. Step Afrika!’s vision of America seems to be in process, still being formed, challenged, and revised. They make the struggles of this country’s past and present audible in such pulsating ways. You not only hear this, but you most definitely feel it through the floor.
Running Time: One hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.
“The Fruits of Our Labor” runs through November 1, 2026 presented by Step Afrika! at Fichandler Stage, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, 1101 Sixth Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. For more information and to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 202-488- 3300, Tuesday-Sunday, 12 – 6 pm, or go online.