Extra Ancestral

Extra Ancestral unifies music, dance, visual arts, and community engagement as forms of empowerment to reduce the trans-generational trauma that exists in communities of color.

The ensemble's revolutionary performances demonstrate Black survival, invoking the struggle and resistance of 500 years of forced transatlantic passages between West Africa and the Americas. Historically, music and dance have been considered the oldest forms of medicine, and Extra Ancestral seeks to combine traditions of healing through their performances to elevate and empower communities of color.

Their vision manifests in performance productions, dance classes, workshops, and music education with artists and specialists from across the African Diaspora.

Founded by Kahlil Cummings in 2017, Extra Ancestral is a cultural movement dedicated to educating and entertaining audiences through the fusion of different cultural manifestations of the African Diaspora.

In their performances, audiences experience the group's unique application and blend of artistic genres such as Afrobeat, Reggae, Jazz, Salsa, and many traditional musical and dance forms of the African Diaspora.

Narrated through powerful ancestral dancing, Extra Ancestral provides an in-depth education of temporal and geographic borders from Africa to the Americas and back, illustrating lessons from the past that hone tools for the future. Music and dance are the ensemble’s healing tools and are led by some of the Los Angeles area's most dynamic and culturally validated artists.