Performance of African Drumming and Dance April 12 Examines Postcolonial Identity
photo: Sébastien Rieussec
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College presents Musicking the Collage, an evening of African drumming, dance, song, and art, on Thursday, April 12, at 7:30 pm.
Charles Lwanga, Skidmore College Visiting Assistant Professor of Music, will direct students from his MP 179: African Drumming and Dance course in an hour-long performance that examines cross-cultural influences on postcolonial identity. He is a composer, scholar, and educator. His compositions have been read, premiered, and performed by the Axelsson and Nilsson Duo (Sweden), Gimba ensemble (Brazil), counter)Induction (USA), CIKADA (Norway), Indaba South Africa (South Africa), Ion Sound (USA), and by renowned America cellist Dave Eggar. In 2015, Dr. Lwanga’s composition “Best Be” for spoken text and electronics won the Robert Stevenson prize, which is awarded by the Society for Ethnomusicology to the most outstanding composition by an ethnomusicologist.
Malian artist Abdoulaye Konaté’s Métamorphose de papillon (2017), a recent Tang acquisition, will be on view for the first time in the museum and serves as a point of contemplation and inspiration. The artist uses the butterfly as a symbol of fragility and transformation—the fragility of African states, post-independence, and the positive transformations made possible in the postcolonial period. The large-scale textile work relates to themes that will emerge during the performance and resonates with the costumes that will be worn, which speak to African culture and values.
Skidmore College student performers include Jinan Al-Busaidi, Maddy Carre, Jack Galardi, Shelby Gmable, Cris Gil, Allison Hands, Reshma Harripersad, Laura Heinlein, Caile Holland, Zoe Islar, Sayeed Joseph, Sindi Mafico, Mandee Mapes, Meaghan McDonald, Alyssa Morales, Patrick Morton, Amanda Muir, Emily O’Connor, Mike Park, Anna Parsons, Ricky Rios, Tim Spenser, Chidubem Udeoji, and Inigo Ugarte.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 518-580-8080 or visit the Tang’s website.
