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RELEASE ON RECEIPT
November 25, 1998
Dance Diaspora Concert to Feature New Works Inspired by 1998 African Tour
Sat., Dec. 5
Sun., Dec. 6
8 p.m.
Warner Center
(30 N. Professor St., behind the King/Rice building).
Tickets: $3 at the door
Advance tickets:
$2 from Central Ticket Service (CTS) box
office, open noon to 5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., or telephone the CTS
24-hour reservation line
(440) 775-8169
OBERLIN--Movements and rhythms inspired by a study tour of West Africa last summer will be premiered at the annual concert of Dance Diaspora, Oberlin College's widely-acclaimed African-American dance company.
The student troupe will present a new program of dances featuring performer Sheri Burnett and the drumming group Iluiaiye led by Matthew Hill under the direction of Adenike Sharpley, Oberlin choreographer and lecturer-in-residence.
Sharpley says she took several student dancers and drummers to Mali, Senegal and Gambia to learn the basics of their art form in situ" because it is "very easy for African dance to become Americanized. I wanted them to learn not only the precise steps as they are done in Africa but also to observe the way dance is used in the context of African culture."
The dancers worked intensely with Gambian dance and drumming master Momodou L. Jarju at their home base in the coastal city of Serrekunda. During their two week stay they also spread out to villages in the interior to observe a wide variety of dances at their places of origin and to study with other dance masters.
Dance Diaspora was founded by Sharpley in 1992. The ensemble performs throughout the northeast United States. The company's most recent off-campus performances were at Tufts and Cleveland State universities, where it played to standing-room-only audiences.
