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