September 3, 2002
Contact: Susan Gwynne
(805) 893-2098
e-mail: gwynne-s@sa.ucsb.edu
The exuberant and high-flying Ballet National du Senegal—an electrifying spectacle of music and dance—comes to UCSB Campbell Hall
Summary Facts:
- Le Ballet National du Senegal
- Kuuyamba: The Spirit of West Africa in Music, Song and Dance
- The premier traditional dance company of West Africa
- Veterans of 22 sold-out North American tours
- Friday, October 11 / 8 pm
- UCSB Campbell Hall
- General: $30/$27, UCSB students: $19/$16
- Tickets/information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at 893-3535
West Africa’s most famous and well-traveled company, the 35-member Ballet National du Senegal, offers a magnificent adventure in total theater on Friday, October 11at 8 pm in UCSB Campbell Hall. The company’s work is characterized by high-energy choreography that soars above the stage, performed by dancers with unmatched physical gifts and discipline. An ensemble of drums and traditional instruments provides infectious musical accompaniment. The combined effect adds up to a kinetically explosive performance that transports the audience to Senegal. For this tour the company is offering a brand new show called Kuuyumba, which rejoices in the newfound freedom of the body that comes with the transition from adolescence to adulthood. The Chicago Sun-Times calls the show “a barefoot extravaganza, a celebratory maelstrom of stomping feet and percussive brilliance,” while the Washington Post raves, “A typical performance by this group can unstuff the stuffiest shirt. These ebullient dancers and musicians have dazzled thousands, presenting the traditional movement and music of their country in the most direct and heartfelt fashion imaginable.”
In a buoyant show of accomplished singing, dancing and musical interludes, Kuuyamba—a term derived from the Mandingue culture that refers to a young adult’s second sojourn in the sacred forest—celebrates the initiation from adolescence into adulthood. To create this program and preserve their West African cultural heritage, members of the troupe have traveled throughout their country learning the music and dances of Senegal’s fifteen diverse ethnic groups. Although dance remains at the forefront of Kuuyamba, it is interwoven with song, storytelling, fantastic masks, frenetic rhythms, spectacular acrobatics and even stilt walking. The group’s stellar musicians perform on several traditional instruments including the tama or talking drum, the kora (a harp-like instrument with 21-strings and a resonating gourd), the dan (a stringed instrument of the Tambacunda region) and the balafon dalinke (a xylophone-like instrument).
Founded in 1960 by poet and statesman Leopold Senghor, the first president of Senegal, Le Ballet National du Senegal has presented and preserved the best of West African culture for over forty years. It is said that to become part of this esteemed company is the dream of the finest young dancers and singers of Senegal. Le Ballet National du Senegal has made 22 sold-out North American tours, winning universal acclaim on their most recent visit in 1998. The New York Times wrote: “All [Ballet Senegal’s] works are meticulously choreographed. Yet they are performed with such spontaneity and such clear love of dance that the program is disarming...This troupe of dancers, singers and musicians quite literally inspired spectators to ignore decorum and join in the fun.”
Le Ballet National du Senegal is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures. It is funded in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Tickets are $30 and $27 for the general public and $19 and $16 for UCSB students.
For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.
Editor: For photos, please call
Susan Gwynne at (805) 893-2098.