Connecting the robust threads of African dance that are woven throughout Western New York, the Department of Dance at SUNY Brockport will present performances of Sankofa African Dance and Drum Ensemble on Thursday, April 25, through Saturday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee on Sunday, April 28, at 2 p.m. The performances will take place 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 http://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 is excited to be bringing back Sankofa ensemble alumni dispersed throughout the region back to campus to appear in this year’s performances. Equally exciting is the ability to present encore performances of “Path of Hope,” choreographed by Marie Basse-Wiles. Generously supported by DanceForce, the piece fuses dances from Mali and Senegal. (Please note that “Path of Hope” will be performed at the Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon performances only.)
Anthony adds that this year “we will be premiering traditional and contemporary choreography from our in-house African natives from Ghana, Nigeria, and Guinea. We are honored to present work from our newest African graduate students, Ghanian Christian Quayson, and Emmanuel Akinyeju, who is a master drummer in his native Nigeria. Also, Sankofa’s music director, Mohamed Diaby – who hails from Guinea – will premiere choreographic work with the Rochester-based Guinean company, Atebayilla.” Also appearing in the concert will be guest djembefola (“one who makes the drum speak”) Mohamed Diarra, also from Guinea.
Along with its usual excitement drawn from the rhythms and enthusiastic, athletic movement, Anthony notes that due to the “strong male presence in the company this season, I will be highlighting traditional Guinean rites of passage celebration through drum, dance, and song.”
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