Preston Riddick landed in Fort Greene nearly 5 decades ago and has shared his insights as a teacher of all ages ever since. Working at the intersection of African dance and history, theater and martial arts, Riddick has cultivated a unique form of pedagogy designed to nurture self-awareness and self-empowerment. To this day, Riddick can be spotted at the top of Fort Greene park training individual seekers in the ways of kung fu and knowledge of self.

In the early 70s Riddick started the Indoda Entsha Cultural Program on Washington Avenue inside St. Luke’s Church. With a focus on the call and response of power and grace within martial arts and African dance and drumming, by the late 80s, the program was hosting major African Dance leaders and providing a platform for international cultural exchange in the community. The program eventually moved to other locations in the area, St Mary’s Church on Willoughby Avenue and Cadman Memorial Church on Lafayette Avenue, and ended circa 2012. For many years, Riddick was also a member of the Alonzo Players, purportedly the longest running repertoire in Brooklyn, based out of the Masonic Temple on Lafayette Avenue. 

All of Riddick’s interests have morphed into his current project the Resura Arkestra, a 10 piece orchestra that infuses traditional West African and Latin rhythms, Jazz, and a touch of spoken word. In fact, some of Riddick’s students from Indoda Entsha now perform side by side with their mentor, making sure his legacy is alive and well.