Each year, the Department of Dance at SUNY Brockport presents its Sankofa African Dance and Drum Ensemble. And each year, the audiences leave the theatre at the end of the concert energized and elated. This year’s performances take place on Thursday, April 20, through Saturday, April 22, at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee on Sunday, April 23, at 2 p.m. in the Hartwell Dance Theater on the Brockport campus. Ticket prices for all performances are $17/general, $12/seniors, SUNY Brockport alumni, faculty and staff and $9/students and will be available online at https://fineartstix.brockport.edu, by phone at 585-395-2787 or at the Tower Fine Arts Center Box Office, 180 Holley Street, Brockport.
Artistic director Jenise Akilah Anthony and music director Mohamed Diaby have put together another spectacular show. In addition to dances she had made for these concerts, Anthony has invited three West African guest artists to share their own exciting choreography: Erico Ansuade (Ghana), Fode Lavia Camara (Guinea), and Josh Ikechukwu (Nigeria).
Ansuade is a world-renowned performer from Accra, Ghana. He began performing at the age of eight and made a name for himself at 19, after winning the title as Ghana’s 2009 National Dance Champion. Ikechukwu is a dancer, choreographer, playwright, and director. He is trained in African dance, Latin ballroom, contemporary, Afro-pop, and hip-hop dance. He received his BA in theatre art from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Camara is a master drummer, percussionist, folklorist, and choreographer. He exemplifies the new generation in the preservation of West African traditions and the influence of these traditions on the world. Born into an artistic family in Conakry, Guinea, West Africa, he honors his family and heritage through his expression of Guinea’s musical traditions and culture.
Anthony recently commented that “the mission of Sankofa is to share African culture and traditions with the community and to expose Western New York to unique African traditions and make people more aware of them.” As part of this mission, the Sankofa troupe has always toured to area schools, but this past winter, interspersed with its appearances in the Rochester region, the ensemble was engaged to perform in New York City, at a school in Queens. Touring, Anthony feels, “gives the performers more opportunities and a high impact learning opportunity by being able to learn outside of the classroom. Touring enriches everyone’s experience.”
Anthony reminds us that “the word ‘Sankofa,’ loosely translated, means that you cannot go forward without looking back. None of us would be able to go forward in the world of African dance, without recollecting our roots and history, just as our guest artists do.”
The Sankofa concerts often sell out prior to the first performance taking place. If that is not the case, any unsold tickets will be available for purchase at the Hartwell Box Office one hour prior to each performance.
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