When Kwanzaa presiding elder Carlie Tartakov assured the audience Saturday that it would be “uplifted by the performance to come,” she was right.

At the end of the Kwanzaa celebration, the entire crowd jumped to its feet, clapping and dancing to the beat of drums in the aisles of Fisher Theater.

In fact, the entire afternoon took on the festive atmosphere that Tartakov had promised.

Tartakov, ISU professor of curriculum and instruction, began the performance by offering libations to the spirits of African American ancestors.

“Today, we celebrate the spirits of those who came before us, those with us today and those yet to come,” Tartakov said.

In order to do this, an audience member would say the name of an ancestor, and Tartakov would pour water into a plant. Libations were offered to people such as Nelson Mandela, Bob Marley and Jack Trice.

The African-American ob-servance of Kwanzaa is based on seven principles — unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

For each of the seven principles, a different family would come forward to light a candle and explain how the principle applies to everyday life.

This was followed by a brief performance that demonstrated each principle. These performances included dance and pantomime groups, a violinist, a short comedic play and singers.

The Disciples’ Harvest Youth and Young Adult Praise Team performed several well-choreographed, energetic dances to demonstrate the principles of unity and faith. The religious, hip-hop-infused songs they performed had the audience clapping and singing along.

The play, “Why Women Take Advantage of Men,” was performed by the ISU World Theatre Workshop (formerly known as the ISU Minority Theatre Workshop). It painted the “power struggle” between women and men in a comical light. On a more serious note, the play demonstrated the ways that both sexes can work together to achieve a fulfilling relationship.

“All of the performances were wonderful,” said community member Kathryn Bastian, who was participating in the Kwanzaa celebration for the first time. “Everyone is so talented and well organized.”

She said the ISU’s promotion of Kwanzaa will help to raise awareness about the holiday and provide a special time for people to reaffirm their cultural traditions.

Although Kwanzaa is celebrated each year from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, these seven days are not the only time of the year the themes of Kwanzaa are observed, Tartakov said.

“We want you to take these principles and incorporate them into your lives every day of the year,” Tartakov said.