BRATTLEBORO — The Interractive Arts Collective presents the eighth annual Abene African Dance and Drum Festival on Aug. 24-26 at the (air-conditioned) Stone Church, 210 Main St.
The word “Abene” means “place where good is encountered” and is the name of the village in southern Senegal, West Africa.
The festival in Brattleboro was started to showcase Senegalese master dancer Cara Diallo, who came to the area to teach each year for six years until 2010. Diallo was not able to come this year, but organizers have plans to arrange for him to come next year.
This year, the festival hosts special guest teachers from Senegal invited by one of the collective's regular teachers, Pape (Elhadji Mamadou) Ba.
• Malang Bayo is a master dancer, choreographer and former member of the National Ballet of Senegal. His entire career has been devoted to teaching the art of African song and dance.
In addition to his extensive dance experience he is also an accomplished singer and drummer. He is well-versed in the folklore and dance of the Wolof, Mandinka, Djola, and Bambara people of Senegal.
• Alioune “Pape” N'Diaye, from Dakar, Senegal, is a singer, dancer, percussionist, and choreographer who performs and teaches traditional and contemporary African music and dance forms.
He has been a performer and choreographer with many ensembles, both in Senegal and the U.S., including the National Ballet of Senegal. He established the Ndaje School of African Arts, and he teaches a weekly dance class in Cambridge, Mass.
• Demba Sene, an accomplished dancer from Senegal, has toured internationally for several years with the National Ballet of Senegal prior to settling in the U.S., where he has been teaching and choreographing widely with schools and dance companies.
In Vermont, where he currently lives, he was a choreographer for the Jeh Kulu Dance and Drum Theater in Burlington and has worked with developmentally disabled adults.
• Namory Keita will teach West African drumming on Saturday and Sunday. He is an accomplished Guinean drummer who was the lead drummer for his village since 2006, has performed and taught worldwide, and his work is included on a couple of recordings.
He is skilled at meeting the learning needs of students with a wide range of levels and experience. He will bring extra djembe drums for students to use.
Ba will start the festival off on Friday, Aug. 24 by teaching a Senegalese dance called Kutiro. The dance classes will be accompanied by live drumming by Namory Keita and Ibrahima Thioko Diagne of Senegal.
Diagne, a multitalented master percussionist, toured with several artists in West Africa, Europe, and the United States, and with Les Ballet National Du Senegal before moving to New York City. He tours internationally as percussionist for four-time Grammy nominee Angelique Kidjo; for Baba Drame, also from Senegal; and for Jason Graves, Nick Gangel, and friends.
On the evening of Saturday, Aug. 25, a gala performance features the festival dancers and drummers.
African meals will be available prepared by Dieneba Macalou on Saturday and Sunday evenings and African-related wares will be for sale throughout the festival.
Fees for classes at the festival are as follows: All seven dance classes: $100, six-pack of dance classes: $90, four-pack of dance classes: $60, single dance class: $16, single drum class: $16, Saturday performance: $10, and Malian meals: $12.