The Talking Drum, a living symbol of the rhythm of West Africa, evoked the language of the Orishas and the Ancestors, through movement, in an ecstatic ritual of life at Dance Place’s Martin Luther King weekend celebration, “Circle of Praise: Blessing!” with the acclaimed KanKouran West African Dance Company.
Since 1983, KanKouran has been performing authentic West African dancing and drumming in an effort to facilitate cross-cultural enrichment. This year, KanKouran’s 36th annual concert devoted the program to honor the late Dr. Sherrill Berryman-Johnson, Howard University’s Dance Arts Program founder and mentor to KanKouran’s co-founder and Artistic Director Assane Konte.
An opening video featuring Berryman-Johnson entering the space in slow, majestic strides alongside a fierce African warrior and a powerful African-American male dancer was an unexpected tribute that seared into visual memory the enduring power of the African Diaspora.
And who would have thought that a program of traditional West African music and dance would begin with an R&B vibe. The KanKouran Senior Company performed “Testify/Djinafoli,” choreographed by Berryman-Johnson, who died in 2010, and Assane Konte, with a mixed group of 30 male and female dancers decked out in colorful African regalia. With grounded light- footed steps, freely swinging arms and half-turns following full turns, they moved with intentionality to the Afro-jazzy beat of the soulful Dianne Reeves singing the glorious “Testify.”
The mixed genres of this program, steeped in African roots, made it as educational as it was entertaining. African drumming and dance intertwined with contemporary Gospel and Caribbean Gombey – a blend of African, Native American, Caribbean and British cultures featuring masks and intricate footwork – in homage to deep African ancestral connections.
Vocal and drum solos pierced the atmosphere with dynamic energy. The stupendous Jane Medley-Brown sang a cappella of the Black Church and Civil Rights with “Oh Freedom,” followed by the KanKouran Senior Company who praise danced and got happy in “Going Back Home,” choreographed by Berryman-Johnson.
Drummer Amadou Kouyate led the audience in great fun as they clapped and sang call-and- response to the Talking Drum of his “Musical Interlude.”
“Mandiani,” choreographed by Veronica Hunte-Thomas and Konte, and the sacred circle ritual and drums of “Sabar” by Idy Ciss and Konte, were perfect pieces to showcase the varying abilities of the KanKouran children, the community class performers and the technically adept KanKouran Senior Company. But it was the children who almost stole the show, particularly the adorable littlest dancer who appeared to be just years old!
Dancers’ bodies fluidly matched the intensity of the trancelike rhythms of the seven-piece drum ensemble using mostly the upper torso, hands and feet in complex phrasing to express spiritual devotion. Elegant jumps, arms flowing up through the body and then low to the ground as if honoring the heavens and earth, and knees swinging rapidly to the left and then to the right inspired feelings of blissful harmony throughout every piece of this exuberant program.
All ages at all skill levels participated in KanKouran’s wonderful communal celebration of life in “Circle of Praise: Blessing!” In closing, Konte, the master himself, thanked the community for 37 years of continued support.
Photos: top, KanKouran West African Dance Company, courtesy of Dance Place and the company, bottom, Assane Konte, center, KanKouran West African Dance Company, Lawrence Green, Time Traveling Media