Ile Ife Films, Inc.



Detail of the mural "Obatala and the Tree Spirit" designed by Lily Yeh,
one of several murals that are part of Ile Ife Park maintained by the
Village of the Arts and Humanities on Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia PA.

The central figure is Arthur Hall, from the photograph above.
The figure on the left is from Obatala, Arthur Hall's signature dance.
The "Tree Spirit" at right is a recreation from a previous mural by Barbara Bullock,
who taught fine arts at the original Ile Ife Center for the Arts and Humanities.
The previous mural was on a wall that collapsed.

What Arthur Hall does may be called dance,
but it is also a kind of culture-making
rarely seen and sorely needed.


Elizabeth Roberts photo Eliz4197
The back door off Alder Street of the original
Ile Ife Black Humanitarian Center for the Arts & Humanities
1968-1988
Arthur Hall, founder and artistic director.
The first (the only?) community arts center
founded by a dance company -
The Afro-American Dance Ensemble
1958-1988
Listings by Arthur Hall of:
  • The West Aftrican Cultural Society (ca. 1953-1956)
  • AADE Company Members
  • Ile Ife Faculty and Distinguished visitors


    Historical Marker at 2544 Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia

    Arthur was an original genius.
    Whatever this collection will be,
    it will serve to show those young people
    coming through just the kind of heritage
    they have before them.


    Arthur Hall and Bruce Williams
    Woodland Camps, Belgrade Lakes, Maine
    during the production of
    Snake Dance Teacher Dance (1977)

    ILE IFE Films
    also doing business as
    Ile Ife Arts
    History of Ile Ife Films, Directors, Reports, Contact
    Composite Fiancial Statement, 2008 - 2019
    2018 Annual Report / 2019 Annual Report / 2020 Annual Report
    2021 Annual Report



    Elizabeth Roberts

    Elizabeth Roberts was an original member of the Afro-American Dance Ensemble.
    She created most of the costumes for the company, and before her passing,
    she donated a rich collection of posters and over 4,300 color slides
    to the Arthur Hall Collection, all of which are now in the
    Special Collections Research Center in Philadelphia.



    Arthur Hall Obatala
    by Bruce Williams et al. (2018 digital video, 20:00)
    Composed from digital preservation masters made from 16mm and 8mm film and videotapes for
    the Arthur Hall Collection by Ile Ife Films, the footage spans 23 years, from
    ILE IFE House of Love (1973) by Raymond Hartung to the
    ILE IFE Philadelphia Maine concerts (1995).
    This 2018 version premiered at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of
    Archaeology and Anthropology, December 8, 2018.


    Ile Ife Films
    Vimeo channels available (free) online
    (with some overlaps)

    Arthur Hall Collection Films and Videos

    Arthur Hall Collection Interviews and Oral Histories

    Arthur Hall Collection Archive of camera tapes and raw footage

    Abbott Meader Collection Films

    Bruce Williams Collection Films and Videos





    The Durbar for the Asantehene - the King of the Ashanti Nation in Ghana
    Arthur Hall (Nana Afo) in the center flanked by Elizabeth Roberts and
    Nana Korantemaa Ayeboafo and other members the Afro-American Dance Ensemble
    who were the invited guests of the Ghanaian Ambassador to the USA.



    Dancers Ione Nash and Betty Alridge

    The Arthur Hall Afro American Dance Ensemble Alumni


    Ruth Mills and Barbara Kinney perform Obatala for the filming of
    ILE IFE (House of Love)
    by Ray Hartung et al (1973, 16mm, 25:23)

    Arthur Hall Collection Finding Aid
    with a link to the AHC moving image database


    Elizabeth Roberts photograph - Eliz3152.jpg

    Dance Conga with Arthur Hall and Penny Vaden.
    "... she was a principal dancer along with Karen, Carol, and Vangie,
    when I first came to the center in 1968. Her mate was George Cannon, a man of small
    stature, but he was a Master on the Bata Drums. They are both deceased, but I can
    still see him in my mind's eye, drumming along with Farel, James Corry, Bobby Artis,
    Jojo on cowbell, and Obaka on shekere," writes Barbara Kinney. (April 2018)


    More Arthur Hall Collection Materials

    More about ILE IFE Films
    Early web pages
    History - Mission Statement
    Digital Archive Project (November 2011)


    From an archive of original 35mm color slides by Ken Abendschein
    now in the Special Collections Research Center
    Temple University Libraries
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Arthur Hall Collection Photo Albums on Facebook



    Honor Roll of Donors and Contributors
    Index of subdirectories | Bibliography

    Contact us
    iifahc@gmail.com

    Last Updated
    January 2023

    The counter on original website (1995-2001) was lost to the ether.

    A new counter was started 9/22/2007 with 32,831 visits through 1/6/2020
    when we stopped counting.

    The original website was resurrected by webmaster James Williams in 2001
    and transferred to Bruce Williams, Ile Ife Films on January 6, 2020.

    In gratitude for this faithful and valuable work, we continue to recommend
    The Park Slope Bed and Breakfast in Brooklyn, NY.


    IFA Board
    (detail)