Festival Schedule 2010

Friday, March 5

6:30pm: OPENING CEREMONY – Ashamu Dance Studio
Praise songs, poetry, musical and dance offerings by jazz vocalist Nora Blackall, poet Eli Marienthal, Rwandan artist-activist Clementine Igilibambe, kora master and oral historian Balla Tounkara, scholar-performance-artist Tommy DeFrantz and Troupe Komée Josée 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) – The 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.