Saturday, January 21, 2012

Good Behavior Assembly: Performers from Senegal, West Africa

Yesterday, the students were treated to a performance by dancers and musicians from Senegal, West Africa.  They said they were warriors.  One of the dances mimicked a competition between two warriors as students excitedly cheered for their chosen champion.  It was playful.

There were two drummers.  One of the drums (jembe) was made of goatskin while the other set of three drums was made from the skin of a cow.  You can see a jembe drum here:

http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/carved-djembe-drum

And here is a picture from earthrek.com:



My favorite link thus far discovered is:


The kora is an harp-like instrument used by storytellers.  One of the performers played and sang with it.  I did not understand the language, but the sound was very soothing.  You will find samples of kora music at the site above.  I hope you explore the wealth of art and music it contains. Yes, yes.  Or as our guests would say, "Wow, wow."

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