Sabar (2009)

An African American California born hip-hop girl resists the ancestral call of the Senegalese dance "Sabar". When she finally gives in, she discovers more than a dance - she finds herself. AISHA grew up dancing, all she knows is hip-hop and cannot understand the craziness about African dance. On a dare, she goes to an African dance class "just to see her friend" but when she leaves, the drum beats follow her and haunt her. Soon this hip-hop girl becomes a much talked about future "Queen of Sabar" and everyone is amazed at her effortless and captivating skills. The city of Oakland, California can hardly wait to see Aisha perform at the upcoming Sabar dance festival. But life has a way of dealing us cards that will test our very core and Aisha's cards were waiting in the wings. Set against the backdrop of the African dance movement in the United States, Sabar is a dramatic feature film about the triumph of the human spirit in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Sabar examines how we constantly negotiate and choreograph our way through the bigger and sometimes arrhythmic dance called LIFE.