Ammaya Dance & Drum Brings Joyful Energy to Campus

On October 5, the annual All-School Gund Event featured a performance by Ammaya Dance & Drum in Werner Centennial Center. The event gave Westminster students the opportunity to learn about West African musical culture and experience the rhythms and dances for themselves. The vibrant group of six drummers and three talented dancers encouraged students to learn basic drumming rhythms, dance on stage, participate in an audience singalong, and play djembe drums on the Booker T. Bradshaw Stage with their classmates.

 

The high-energy performance featured West African musicians, instruments, dances, and songs from Mali, Guinea, and Senegal. Managing Director and longtime dancer Tara Murphy spoke about how African drums and dances became foundational to American popular culture, influencing many of the modern music genres students listen to today. Creative Director Issa Coulibaly of Mali introduced students to the djembe and led an exercise that replicated the tone, slap, and bass qualities of the drum by having students pat their heads, shoulders, and knees to the rhythm and tempo of the drum master. The finale brought faculty on stage to dance to the djembe and dundun drums while students loudly cheered their performances.

 

After the all-school performance, dance students and those in band and strings classes enjoyed master classes in dance and drumming, both led by Ammaya members.

 

The school community thanks Ammaya Dance & Drum for sharing their culture and talent, as well as the Gund family, who established the fund for the Graham Gund ’59 Visiting Artist Series in 1991 in honor of Graham’s 50th birthday. Income from the fund underwrites the cost of bringing outstanding artists to Westminster to enrich students’ understanding and appreciation of the performing arts.