The Rhythm of Change
African Performance Weekend 2010
March 5-7 2010
Three nights of celebration and performance, two days of workshops. Educators, world-class musicians, dancers, actors, ritualists, social entrepreneurs, and community leaders come together to celebrate the power of performance to enact social change.
The Rhythm of Change Festival is in partnership with the Creative Arts Council, International Institute of Rhode Island, Brown International Organization (BRIO), and
the Brown Office of International Affairs.
*schedule subject to change
Friday, March 5
6:30pm: OPENING CEREMONY – Ashamu Dance Studio
Praise songs, poetry, musical and dance offerings by jazz vocalist Maya Breuer, poet Eli Marienthal, Rwandan artist-activist Clementine Igilibambe, kora master and oral historian Balla Tounkara, scholar-performance-artist Tommy DeFrantz, vocalist Nora Blackall, Troupe Komée Josée, and Inziragukanya drummers will call all participants to convene, contemplate and act.
8:00pm: DEMOCRACY IN DAKAR SCREENING – List 120
Exploring hip-hop as a force for change in West Africa, followed by a panel discussion, intermission and:
9:45pm: AFRICAN UNDERGROUND CONCERT – List 120
With Salim Diallo, Waterflow, Troupe Komée Josée, Senegalese DJs and Malian drummers.
Saturday, March 6
Workshops:
9:00-10:30am: Yoga (Maya Breuer) – Ashamu
Morning Music Jam (Almaz Dessie) – Lyman 007
Theatre of the Oppressed (Shelley Wyant) - Cave
10:45am-12:15pm: Malian Dance (Seydou Coulibaly) – Ashamu
Mali Song (Balla Tounkara) – The Cave
1:00-2:30pm: Hip-Hop (Buddha Stretch) – Ashamu
Djoun-Djoun Drumming (Issa Coulibaly) – The Cave
2:45-4:15pm: Mali Song (Balla Tounkara) - Ashamu
Tap (Tommy DeFrantz) - The Cave
4:30-5:30pm: Burundi Dance (Erneste Ntahondereye) - Ashamu
Djembe Drumming (Issa Coulibaly) - The Cave
Film Screening: "Jana Sanskriti: A Theatre on the Field" by Jeanne Dossé - Lyman Hall 007
6:00pm: PERFORMANCE BY TOMMY DEFRANTZ – Ashamu
Excerpts from ‘“Monk’s Mood”: A Performance Meditation on the Life and Music of Thelonious Monk’, exploring tap dance as a narrative form through Monk's life and music as well as personal relationships with his wife, Nellie, and the Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, who befriended Monk and other jazz musicians of the bebop era. The work approaches his isolation, melancholy, creative genius, and ultimately his madness.
8:30pm: AFRICA FOR HAITI – Sayles Hall
Troupe Komée Josée Headline Benefit Concert, co-sponsored by the Brown Haiti Fund, the Office of International Affairs and BRIO, featuring Seydou Coulibaly, Issa Coulibaly, Sidy Maiga, Moussa Traoré and Balla Tounkara on the kora, with a special performance by New Works/World Traditions.
Sunday, March 7
Workshops:
9:30-11am: Rwandan Dance (Clementine Igilibambe) – Ashamu
Djembe Drumming (Moussa Traoré) – The Cave
11:15am-12:45pm: Malian Dance (Seydou Coulibaly) – Ashamu
Haitian Drumming (Kera Washington) – The Cave
Theatre of the Oppressed Workshop (Shelley Wyant) - Lyman 007
1:30-3:00pm: Haitian Dance (Jean Appolon) – Ashamu
Afro-Cuban Dance (Grisselle Escotto) – The Cave
3-4:30pm: Djembe Drumming & Bamana Proverb (Sidy Maiga) – The Cave
3-4:30pm: PANEL: “LOCATING PERFORMANCE IN ACTS OF SOCIAL CHANGE” – Ashamu
NGO founders, public health workers, artist-activists and educators join to discuss how and why performance inspires communities to engage in humanitarian, public health and social justice projects. Tommy DeFrantz will moderate as representatives from the Mali Health Organizing Project (MHOP), Clementine Refugee Scholarship Fund, Gardens for Health International, Foundation for West Africa, JANBE Organization, Djoumanzana Orphanage, Sekou Camara Library and Research Fund, Jinijela Electricity Fund and Radio Jekafo present their projects and social engagement objectives. Guests include Erik Ehn, Director of the Arts in One World Festival, Marla Crockett, Dialogue and Deliberation Consultant, and Dr. Medeva Ghee, Associate Director of the Leadership Alliance.
5:30pm: CLOSING PERFORMANCE: “WHEN CHILDREN DANCE” – Ashamu, featuring:
• The Inziragukanya Burundi Ensemble, comprised of resettled Burundi refugees, uniting the Burundian-Rwandan community after years of displacement in refugee settlement camps in East Africa. This performance hopes to raise funds for the purchase of traditional drums to preserve their culture and strengthen their community here in America.
• The Haitian Choir from St. Michael’s Church, headed by Elza Leger.
• Bus Stop: A short play examining genocide and conflict in Rwanda.
• Followed by Q&A panel with festival artists and final blessings.
TICKETS
FULL PACKAGE - $125 Brown students / $150 General Public
Mix & Match Workshops & Performances: Each: $10 Brown students, $15 General Public
All tickets for all events sold at the door, located in Ashamu lobby. Cash or check only.
Tickets go on sale at 4:00pm on March 5th and run through the entire weekend.
To purchase tickets or for more information, please contact Michelle Bach-Coulibaly at tellicoulibaly@gmail.com or by phone at 401-863-3285 or 401-588-1688.
THE RHYTHM OF CHANGE FESTIVAL IS PARTNERING WITH THE FOLLOWING INITIATIVES:
Clementine Refugee Scholarship Fund
Cultural Preservation of Jinijenla Village, Mali
The Djoumanzana Children's Center & Yeredon Center for Cultural Preservation
The Foundation for West Africa
Gardens for Health International
Inziragukanya Burundi Refugee Drum Ensemble
JANBE Haiti Relief: Jean Appolon
Mali Health Organizing Project (MHOP)
Radio Jekafo Bamako
Sekou Camara Library & Research Fund
For more information or for tickets, please contact Michelle Bach-Coulibaly at tellicoulibaly@gmail.com or by phone at 401-863-3285 or 401-588-1688.
