The plains and savannas of West Africa are home to rich cultural traditions of music, dance, ritual and community. These traditions will grace Eugene this weekend as Dance Africa, the University’s resident African dance ensemble, performs Friday and Saturday night with guest artists Mondjou and Salif Kone from Mali.
The Dougherty Dance Theatre, on the third floor of the Gerlinger Annex, will host the performances, which start at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at the door – $10 for general admission and $5 for students.
Dance Africa is a student repertory performance group made up of dancers and drummers. The troupe tours the Oregon public school circuit, where they dance, drum, sing and tell stories to educate elementary school children about Africa.
At this weekend’s concerts, the performers will showcase a variety of dance styles, reflecting the wellspring of cultural diversity in African performance art.
“We try to represent as many cultures from the continent as possible,” said Rita Honka, the founder and director of Dance Africa and adjunct dance instructor. The program will include traditional dance styles from Togo, Mali, Guinea and Zimbabwe.
Mondjou and Salif Kone have been teaching a series of drum and dance classes on campus as part of their weeklong stay at the University. They have also choreographed a new piece of repertory for the Dance Africa group.
Music, song and dance are forms of language in African tribal villages and are more than just a performance vehicle. Born into the griot (pronounced “gree-oh”) tradition of West Africa, Mondjou and Salif Kone are much more than just musicians. In fact, griots are essentially troubadours, living archives of speech, song and dance who maintain oral folk traditions and tribal histories. The rhythms and melodies they relay communicate local tales as well as epics.
Passed down through generations, griots learn a vast catalog of traditional songs and complex rhythms. Some griots can sing seven generations worth of tribal and family history. In other areas, griots perform ritual songs to summon spirits and evoke the sympathy of ancestors.
As narrative poets and tribal historians, griots play an important role in preserving the traditions of their people. This weekend their cultural histories come to Eugene through music and dance.