Mini Interview with Theo Aytchan Williams

02 Feb 2011 2 Comments

by maliamovement in MMCompany Interviews Tags: Area, artists, Bay, Community, company, dancer, malia, movement, Musician, Oakland, support, writer

photo by OooMami Flicks…

Theo Aytchan Williams: Writer/Musician/Dancer and Lighting Designer for Malia Movement Company Interview 2011

Q#1: Are you a Bay Area Native? and if not, how long have you lived in the Bay? Theo: I am a Oakland native. I grew up on Oakland Ave and hung out around the lake. K- 12 in the town.. Edison Elementary School, which is now a condo complex that Mayor Lionel Wilson “condemned” and relocated the students to Piedmont Avenue and Lakeview Elementaries. The building was bought by developers and is a Condo complex to this day..

Played around the Lake a lot…it’s funny, but the Lake Area is practically unchanged. One change is – like greater Oakland – it’s more racially diverse.

Q#2: When did you start on the creative path you are currently on? Theo: I would have to say in elementary school. I wrote my first Script/screen play in the 6th grade… Very primitive though. We would have creative writing sessions each friday. It was optional for students to receive extra credit by sharing creative writings from the week. Each week I would read something I had written… Sometimes good, sometimes rushed – but I would always read.

Also, my family is very musical. I grew up around lots of singing and music, mostly Gospel. It was the 70′s and the Bay was full of cultural expression. My grandmother was an English and Music Teacher, so we had a piano in the living room… later I had my Aunt Betty’s Fender Rodes electric piano in my bedroom. I never mastered the keys, but I played around a little.

Q#3: Where do you find your inspiration? Theo: I find inspiration all around…. It’s in the children – watching them play and interact and of course listening to and studying the masters. Masters in Education, Music, Dance and even Politics…. Sometimes, something they say or do really sinks in and I have a Ah Ha! moment..

Right now, I’m working with a project called SambaFunk!”Carnaval Explosion” (a new Dance Fitness movement with influences from Funk and Brasilian music). George Clinton, Parliment and Funkadelic have been Major inspirations on our look and OLODUM from Bahia Brasil has greatly inspired the sound.. We have youth in the program and they keep the energy young and vibrant. I try to stay open to new inspirations….

Q#4: What was the first piece of vinyl you ever purchased? Theo: The first piece of vinyl I purchased was a 45rpm by Johnnie Guitar Watson, a favorite of my Aunt Marion.

Q#5: Anything else you’d like to share? a joke/quote? Theo: Thanx for the opportunity to share some of my thoughts and glimpses into my past.. you made me think, for real