Black History Month Celebration “Saraka” Dafra Drum Performance
Category: Event Calendar
Date and Time for this Past Event
- Wednesday, Feb 8, 2023 12 p.m.
Location
The University of Akron
302 Buchtel Ave
Details
This event will be held in the Jean Hower Taber Student Union Gardner Theatre
Wilfried Souly, a choreographer, dancer, drummer, and Taekwondo master from from Bukina Faso, West Africa, will perform “Saraka” Dafra Drum Performance as part of our celebration of Black History Month. Wilfried will be accompanied by University of Akron DTAA students.
Saraka, translated in Bambara as The Sacrifice, is the event that always takes place at all traditional and familial ceremonies such as coronations, coming of age ceremonies, baptisms, etc. The Saraka have been an ancient tradition for centuries and are led by Griot or feticheurs (sacred magicians) in the Manding Empire.
Dafra Drum will be bringing the high energy of this Griot ancestral tradition, which is part of West African daily life, to the Black History Month celebration at the University of Akron. The artists will be sitting in a half circle leaving the center stage empty for the dancers to demonstrate traditional steps in communication with the lead Djembéfola (Djembe drummer). The cast will include professional musicians from Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Senegal as well as dancers from the UA School of Dance, Theatre and Art Administration.
The ensemble will play several traditional West African instruments including the Djembe, the Dundun (Kenkeni, Sangban, Dundun Ba), the Tama/Talking drum, the Balafon (Traditional Xylophone), the Kora, the Ngoni, the Calabash, and the Djabara.
The event is sponsored by the Office of Inclusion and Equity and The Office of Multicultural Development. The event is free and open to the public.
