BELLOWS FALLS — Making their fourth trip to Bellows Falls, the Sankofa Dance Theater of Baltimore, Md., will present an unforgettable evening of African dance, storytelling, and drumming on Friday, Aug. 9, at 7 p.m. at the Bellows Falls Opera House.
Together with The Orchard School community of East Alstead, N.H., the Sankofa troupe brings to life a West African folktale, complete with the heartbeat of the drum, choreographed dance, costumes and scenery – all created by Orchard School campers in a week-long immersion experience led by Sankofa.
The camp performance is followed by a striking and culturally steeped performance by the Sankofa Dance and Drum Theater – rich with spirited storytelling, powerful drumming, and amazing dancing.
Since 1995, Sankofa Dance Theater has infused The Orchard School and surrounding community with gifts of West African music, arts, and friendship. For a week each summer, Sankofa co-founder and director Kibibi Ajanku brings the internationally known troupe to East Alstead, offering campers aged 3 to 14 an energizing immersion in West African culture.
This year, the camp began on Aug. 5 and culminates in the Friday evening Opera House performance. Campers and staff of The Orchard School team with Sankofa's artistic directors and teachers - Jumoke and Salim Ajanku - as well as Sankofa Drum and Dance ensemble members, to celebrate the possibilities of diversity and difference in a rural New England setting.
The Orchard School is a nonprofit preschool, kindergarten, child care, and community center dedicated to providing high-quality early education, child care, and family support, and is a community meeting place.