We all enjoyed Friday evening drum workshop with Lansana Kouyate of Guinea, West Africa....we learned rhythms to "Tiriba"which is a rhythm of the Laduma people from the Boke and Boffa area in the Western part of Guinea. It is a welcoming rhythm, played when people visit or for such celebrations as naming ceremonies.
Fenix director Olivia and other students then enjoyed a wonderful balafon class on Saturday afternoon before the drummers and dancers arrived. We learned balafon accompaniment to one of our signature dances, Cinte. Maybe you will be hearing that in the near future, after we practice it a lot :-)
Then on Saturday night, guest instructor Tania Camara from Chico West African Drum and Dance Ensemble took us through many, many dance moves of Tiriba while the drummers practiced the rhythms from the night before. We all had a great time and got super sweaty!
Thank you Lansana and Tania, and thanks to everyone who came and had a blast! You can see all the smiles on the dancers' faces that West African dancing ROCKS!
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ReplyDeleteOlivia is an amazing dancer. Joy in motion.
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