African Drums Beat

West African groups find ways to spread the music and dance.

A A A Comments By Ernie Tucker Thursday, May 10 2001

As more people awaken to world music, transplanted artists from around the globe find ways to share their cultures locally. Two African groups will do just that when they perform this weekend.

Oyoyo spreads the traditional sounds of West Africa to new audiences.

Details

8-11 p.m. May 11, $5
303-499-6484, dancingcircle.com

Oyoyo, 7 p.m. May 12
Parker Recreation Center, 17301 Lincoln Avenue, Parker
$10 adults, $5 students and senior citizens
303-841-4500, emisimports@aol.com

Bantaba World Dance & Music, 691 B South Broadway, Boulder

More About

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

West Africa has always been a source of music and dance, and Boulder's two-year-old Bantaba World Dance & Music studio will showcase performers from Senegal, Mali, Ghana and elsewhere as part of West African Nights. This Friday, Senegalese griot Boubacar Diebate and his group, Dialy Kounda, along with other guests, will demonstrate dance and various forms of traditional African drumming. "We start a little like a class first, to show the basics," says Bantaba director Jenny Gill. It will be a way of "getting people out of their regular ideas" about African culture, he adds, and show them the rich traditional textures from that continent.

For exactly those reasons, Emei Ezidinma began his Denver-based African Awareness Expos ten years ago. As part of that effort, Ezidinma -- a Nigerian-born businessman -- performs with his band Oyoyo ("beautiful" in Ibo). The five-member group, which plays in Parker on Saturday, strives to educate and entertain, playing handmade instruments that have been used by Nigerians for years: talking drums, gongs and thumb pianos that weave a fabric of sounds. "This is the type of traditional music people get together and play," Ezidinma says. "Sometimes there is improvisation, so you can come up with personal expressions that is something that is you." So not only will Oyoyo's members instruct the audience in the history of their instruments, but they will also pass them around so that everyone can try their hand.

If you can beat 'em, join 'em.

Get the Events Newsletter

What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.