BENNINGTON, VT — Have you ever wanted to explore West African culture? Do you need to shake things up, or boogie down? Your opportunity awaits as the Saakumu Drum and Dance Troupe returns to lift us out of old man winter! Join us Saturday, April 1st at 7:00pm at the Masonic Hall, 504 Main Street, Bennington, VT. Co-sponsored by Vermont Arts Exchange (VAE), this all ages show will sweep you away by the joy of spiritual, ceremonial, and recreational expressions generated from a tucked away region of Ghana, West Africa!
After a successful 2016 residency in Bennington, Saakumu returns to work this year with students at the Village School of North Bennington, Miss Halls School of Pittsfield, Brian DeAngelo’s Drum Class at the Left Bank, and this public performance in downtown Bennington. Tickets for this event are $5/student, $10/adults, $20/family at the door. Libations will be provided along with student vendors from the Mosaic Program.

The award winning Saakumu is one of the leading traditional/contemporary dance and music groups in Ghana, West Africa. A performance encompasses the telling of stories, unfamiliar to the western mind, passed down through multiple generations, and nestled in the tapestry of drums, gyils (West African xylophones), voices, and explosive dance. Saakumu was founded by Bernard Woma, a national treasure of Ghana, through his Dagara School of Music. In coordination with Griffin Brady, Buffalo, NY, Saakumu lifts communities throughout the United States, dispelling cultural barriers to connect at a fundamental human level.

When asked about the realities of the world we live in and the mission of Sakkumu, Griffin Brady, Bernard Woma and Saakumu’s co-leader, said “Things get scary. Things get real. But it’s the music that brings me back to the place that I need to be.” So share this opportunity with a friend, a family member, a neighbor, or even a stranger, and be ready to center your self and shake your body because, as Bernard Woma likes to say, “Bad dancing never hurt the ground.”

For more information about Saakumu go to www.dagaramusic.org/saakumu/ or call VAE at 802-442-5549.

The Masonic Hall is an accessible facility, call for specific accommodations.