Sankofa African Dance Theatre

On Monday, ALANA hosted the Sankofa African Dance Theatre in McGuire Hall as a part of Black History Month. As I entered McGuire Hall, I saw many men and women dressed in traditional African clothing rushing about the room, and became worried as I thought that this event would be a long lecture on history.
The event began with an address on the theme of this year’s Black History Month. “To go back and get it” was the theme that ALANA chose to represent the events of this month. They had meant for the theme to inspire people to enrich themselves in the history of Africa.
The presentation by the Sankofa Dance Theatre began shortly after the introduction by a member of ALANA. One of the members of the dance theatre came forward and explained the purpose behind their appearance that night. She told us that through the dancing, they were traveling around Western African, which was formerly the Malawi Empire. We would begin in Ghana and travel through the other countries and the dances and drums would show us their customs and cultures, and at the end of the event we would return to Ghana. She told us that Sankofa means “reaching back to move forward.” I immediately thought about what that meant to me and how the event contributed to the Year of the City. We cannot move forward in life without understanding from our past. Our past teaches us what mistakes to avoid as we progress in life and it allows us to appreciate what we have today. As the speaker told the audience, “learning from the past allows us to appreciate everyone around us” and it also teaches us not create barriers that separate us from people who are different. In African tradition, the past represented a time when soul and spirit were not separate from the body. The year of the city teaches that same belief. We should not create barriers between Loyola and the people in the city of Baltimore and instead we should venture out into the city to understand the history and culture that makes Baltimore what it is. When we create these barriers we are repeating the same mistakes that were made in the past, and in doing so we are taking for granted what Baltimore has to offer.
The second part of the event allowed the audience to see the significance of drums and dancing in the everyday lives of African Americans. The drums being played at this event are called “jimbae” which are traditionally played in West Africa. The drums are made of wood, cow skin, and metal rings. The drums make three sounds, a tone a slap and a base. There were three drums that were being played, the first was “kinkimi” which has the highest pitch, the second was the “songba” which plays a major part of the melody, and lastly the “doondooba” which is the heartbeat of the rhythm. While he was explaining the meaning of each of the sounds, I was preoccupied with being able to spell the traditional African names properly and I missed out on a part of it, however, I did manage to hear how it is that the dancer and the drummer are in such synch with each other. As I watched the dances, it seemed that each dancer was reenacting the beats of the drums, and the drummer explained that “break” or a simple tap of the drum signaled the dancer to be prepared to begin or stop. Today drums are used mainly for musical purposes. But in African history, drums were an essential part of everyday life. Not only were the drums used for music and celebrations but also they were a method of communication between villages.
The event suddenly turned into a dancing lesson. In an attempt to get the entire audience involved in the event, the drummers had us all follow the movements of the traditional African Dancers. The event was not only an interesting history lesson but it became an interactive event that the entire audience took pleasure in participating. This event shows us the past of the majority of the population if Baltimore. Last semester I wrote a paper about appreciating what it means to live in Baltimore after visiting a museum in the city. This event in many ways brought the information and knowledge that a museum has to offer to Loyola. With every event of the Year of the City, you get to see a new part of the city and it teaches you about the rich past of Baltimore that many of us forget to take the time out to learn about.