Congo: Africans teach dance and drums
"There is joy. You need to smile. Listen to your heart," shouted Mabiba Baegne, a master dance and drum artist from Congo, Africa, who visited Utah Valley State College recently in celebration of Black History Month.
Baegne and Constant Massengo taught several sessions to dance students, two dozen women and a lone man.
That man, dance major and ballet student Austin Smith, said some of the most popular dances of the 1960s originated from Congolese dance. He said African moves are more grounded and down. "Ballet moves are up; these are down, very tribal."
Michelle Smith said the fun comes because the dancers are always moving.
"There's such a spirit in the room of the culture. We were all unified, though most (of us) didn't know each other," she said.
The native movements require dancers to use their whole bodies as Baegne and Salt Lake City drummer Greg Felice beat their drums.
"It's a very diverse mix," said Lori Bridges, a student from Pleasant Grove. "I like the diversity of the room. We all look just as good or just as ridiculous."
Baegne and Massengo taught 20 sections of dance including a section on World Dance, Modern Dance Technique and Theory, Ballet Technique and Theory, African I, Jazz, Orientation to Dance and Dance as an Art Form.
Dance department chair Kim Strunk coordinated the event and received a mini-grant from the college's international center to pay to bring Baegne and Massengo to Orem.
"Part of my teaching effort is providing students with international cultural experiences," Strunk said. "Although African dance isn't a main dance major, it gives students the opportunity to experience how African dance has profoundly impacted many forms of contemporary dance and music."
E-mail: rodger@desnews.com
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