Our dear friend Kelly Burgess, we have a wonderful, a wonderful thing that is being put together in her memory and in her tribute.

And it is her baby that was her brainchild.

And I know we've talked about over the years, many times, and I have my wonderful friends here with me.

Joining me, because this is something you guys have put together, it's a collaborative process, but really celebrating Kelly and everything that she brought not just to us but to the entire community as well to.

So thank you guys so much for being here with me today.

I know this is an emotional time still and we miss her dearly.

And but this is a really great opportunity for people to come and experience what Uzma meant to her and share it with the community as well too.

Right?

Thank you for having us.

Yeah.

So tell me about the concert as well too, because the meaning itself Swahili based, but it has really deep meaning.

Yeah.

As we were talking about what title and what well, we knew the concept.

We knew we went we wanted this to be a tribute to Kelly.

We were trying to come up with a title because that was always something that she was very involved in, and that made this a little bit challenging, because not only were we trying to honor her, but also be true to the types of of titles that she would lean toward.

Yeah, and I think it was 4 or 5 of us.

It was in me and Pierre and Sierra.

We were all on a call trying to come up with this title and throwing out words that meant something long lasting, but also something that related to Kelly and literally was a collaborative effort.

I don't remember who came up with what, but each word sort of melded together.

And Dio Malayali means in Swahili, eternal.

Yes.

And anybody who knows Kelly giving your yes is the ultimate.

And she absolutely gave her yes and everything she did.

And we couldn't think of anything more appropriate to title this concert than eternal.

Yes.

How beautiful.

What a beautiful tribute to her.

Thank you so much.

Yeah, yeah.

As Michelle was saying.

Yeah.

I mean, she would always just ask us for our.

Yes, she would ask the community as well at every performance for their.

Yes as well.

And then it was funny, I was actually listening to a song on the way here.

It's a song that we actually sang and danced to at her funeral called Come and Move.

And some of the lyrics in, in that song are you have My eternal.

Yes.

And one of the soloists actually going to be performing in the concert, Zach Gillis.

He sang the solo at her funeral, and he said, Kelly had our eternal yes, Kelly has our eternal yes.

And so I think, you know, as we were brainstorming in that, it's like we were also I feel like she's been leaving these like little clues and signs and things for us that have links.

Yes.

These little like winks, right, that let us know that we're in the right direction and we're on the right path.

And that's exactly when we had the name.

It was like, well, of course, of course, that's what it would be called.

Let's talk a little bit about us, because that was again, her brainchild and started many years ago, but she really set the whole entire organization up to be able to continue successfully long after that.

So let's talk about that.

Yeah.

About well, in 2022 is when she and I started really talking about trying to make a nonprofit.

She had been wanting to do that for some time, and the process of becoming a nonprofit was daunting.

It is.

Neither one of us knew exactly what to do.

We were fortunate enough to have someone who was well versed in the process assist us, and it happened actually rather quickly and painlessly after that.

But that was the first step establishing a very strong board, which we've expanded even this past year to include a lot of members of the community who have given their, yes, essentially to the arts in this area.

And our dedicated Uzma supporters.

They're a very strong foundation for us.

And we also established just this past year a an endowment at the Community Foundation for us.

So that is really what we're hoping will allow us to continue to grow and to thrive and to carry on Kelly's legacy long term.

And the collaboration between all of that to you want to speak to that?

Because this is this is a partnership within the community and with all of the members, with the board members.

But bringing that here to the stage is why it's so important to do that, to share it with everyone.

Yes.

I mean, I'm sure that it's been talked about before, right?

But it is Swahili for wholeness, health in life.

And my mom, she was, I mean, big on a lot of things.

But that unity, that love, that connection, that community was a huge piece.

And so even as you're asking that question, it's funny, I've been reflecting on just when you started and how long I've been in it.

Right?

Like, my mom started it back in 2012, and she started it as like an exercise class, essentially.

But what she did was she, you know, when we came to this area from New York.

She looked around and she was like, what's missing from this community?

And it was African dance.

It was something that was communal that anyone can join and be a part of.

Anyone could be a part of the dance circle.

Anyone could be a part of the drum circle.

And she's like, that's what's needed here in South Bend.

And so it has been a collaborative process because that's how it started for her.

It wasn't something that she wanted to create an isolation.

It wasn't something that she wanted to do just for herself.

It was something that she wanted to do for the larger community.

And so again, along with the theme of yes, right, it's been DeBartolo saying, yes, it's been our community partner saying, yes, it's been I mean, gosh, everywhere that we've rehearsed, it's been those people saying, yes, yes, yes, thank you.

Right.

It's all of those yeses that have gotten us to where we are today.

And we couldn't have done it if it wasn't a collaborative process.

I love that.

Let's talk about the performance itself.

It's happening this Saturday.

Correct?

Okay.

And it has a variety of I love what you guys do because there's dance, there's music, there's song.

What do you guys have on tap for this?

Because I know this was a process to put it together to.

Right?

Yeah.

We started we traditionally have had a January show at the DeBartolo and then a Juneteenth show at the low, and they were revamping their process for their Juneteenth celebration this year.

So that was already in a little bit of flux.

And then when we lost Kelly, it became very clear to us that whatever show we did next here needed to be a tribute.

And so that process really started pretty much after her services.

We started talking about how to build out this concert and what we wanted to include and who we wanted to include, and we were very intentional about inviting back former dancers, people who no longer dance with the company, who no longer sing with the company, to come back and give their yes and pay their tribute to Kelly.

So beautiful is that.

Yeah, it's it's going to be essentially a journey we want to, as we do with every show.

We want to give the audience an experience.

It's not just a performance.

We want them to be as invested as we are in what we're doing.

This one, obviously, is going to be particularly emotional and poignant.

We the intention is to is to walk the audience through Kelly's artistic life or her her her belief in, in God, her commitment.

So we will see pieces that Zima hasn't performed for several years.

There are a couple pieces that preceded me that I've never, never been involved in.

And so you'll see stuff from early.

You'll see songs that are here, songs that really touched Kelly and meant something to her.

There are spoken word pieces.

There is a premiere for our drums action of a piece that they've been working on that they've never performed before, and it's an honor to the elders, and it seemed like a fitting time to bring that out, you know, in honor of Kelly.

So yeah, it's going to be a beautiful celebration of her life.

It is going to be beautiful and and emotional very much.

It is very emotional.

Yeah.

Sorry.

I expect people to have tissues.

Tissues with you.

Right.

Yeah.

But you know and I think that's okay.

I think for me.

You know, being her daughter.

She was so loved not just by me but by everyone.

And I think I was so struck by this at her funeral.

Was that like, there were so many people that loved her so much, and it was because of the love that she poured out.

And it didn't just, you know, it wasn't just contained to my family.

It was extended to, gosh, everyone she met, everyone that she interviewed on the show.

I mean, there were so many people that, you know, came and were just like, oh my gosh, I remember your mom and I remember how special she made me feel and all of those conversations.

And I think in the in the midst of preparing for this show, we've been deep in our grief.

But it's different when it's a collective grief, right?

It's not just me alone or me and my family alone.

There are a lot of us that are feeling the same way, and I think it's really quite powerful for us all to come together and grieve together.

But also remember that this is a celebration of her life and that, you know, she is just pain free and she is just dancing, I'm sure, and she is dancing along with us as well.

And her presence has really felt on this stage.

Her presence is, you know, felt with us everywhere we go.

And I think you speaking to that longevity, everything that we do will be touched by my mom and is because of her.

And so it's just it's it's even more special.

And so we will just carry her in our hearts and every song we sing and every dance we perform and every drum beat, she is with us.

It just gives you even more purpose with that.

Yes.

And I think that's not only something that we will feel, but I think that's something that the the audience will really feel as well.

Yeah, absolutely.

Pierre, who was our artistic director who couldn't be here today, said something really profound at our first tech rehearsal last night.

And that is as emotional as we may become.

And we've shed tears during rehearsals.

We would be doing Kelly at his service, not to celebrate the joy, because that's who she was and that's what she was about.

And so as emotional as people will inevitably be this on Saturday night, we want them to leave joyful and uplifted and carrying Kelly's spirit with her, with them.

Thank you guys so much.

I hope everyone comes out to the concert.

7:30?

6:30.

6:30.

Okay, come out to the concert.

630 bring your tissues and we're going to celebrate.

Kelly, thank you guys for putting this together.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.