Mustang Messenger Spring 2014 | Page 14

African Music and Dance 11 Years of Legacy by Darlisa Wajid-Ali '06, Assistant African Music and Dance Instructor Sankofa. This word is on the lips of many students, faculty, and families in our Bishop McNamara High School community. We are once again eagerly approaching opening night for one of the most highly anticipated Fine Arts events: the annual African Music and Dance Sankofa Night Production. Many of us are waiting with baited breath to witness the sights, sounds and spectacles that ensue from Mr. Victor Bah’s virtuosic vision. But how many of us know what “sankofa” actually means? Derived from the Akan language of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa, “Sankofa” is not merely a word, but also a visual picture called an Adinkra symbol. These symbols are traditionally stamped on cloth and represent ideas, philosophies, concepts or original thoughts. “Sankofa” literally translates to “return and get it.” It can also mean “it is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.” It is represented symbolically in two ways: as a bird with its head turned backwards to retrieve an egg, and as a stylized heart. This year will mark the 11th year for the African Music and Dance Program at Bishop McNamara. With five elective classes and almost a hundred students who participate each year, it’s easy to see that this program holds a powerful interest for the student body. In the year 2014, there can be no contest that African Music and Dance is here to stay. But right now, I’m going to take you back to the year 2004, and tell you about the first Sankofa Night Production: AFRICA (‘04). My sophomore year, Mr. Bah approached a few of us to participate in his new show. He was looking for poets to help support the dances done by his Traditional African Music and Dance class, which totaled about 11 students that year. He gave us a poem entitled “Africa,” put us in costumes covered with Adinkra symbols, and had us act and move to the words. After the poem, I hid in the wings and eagerly drank in the sights and sounds of the dancers moving to the drum. I couldn’t stay away. The drum would make me feel 14 THE MUSTANG MESSENGER something I simply couldn’t describe. Even back then, Mr. Bah was redefining the perception of “traditional” African Music and Dance, using the knowledge he acquired from his studies and experiences in Dance and Theater at college in Ghana. This show occurred on a Saturday night in May, and it was not a sold out event. My junior year, 2005, marked the first year of theatrical storytelling during the Sankofa Night Production: SPIRIT (‘05). In this show, we told the story of a young woman who lost her mother, and as a result, lost her spirit. The entire show depicted the journey of her search to reunite with her spirit. I was lucky enough to share the stage with an amazingly talented group of dancers, drummers and actors who were all dedicated to and passionate about the program. We invested countless hours and copious effort into creating exciting African-Modern choreography. We collaborate