BRATTLEBORO — The Abene African Dance and Drum Festival was held at the Brattleboro Stone Church from Aug. 23 to 25.
Caro Diallo, from Senegal, taught six high-spirited dance classes; Alioune (Pape) N'Diaye, also Senegalese, taught two dance classes; and Namory Keita taught West African drumming on the weekend.
The film Sahel Calling, about Malian musicians raising awareness about the unrest in Mali, was shown Aug. 24, thanks to Jeryl Julian Cisse, followed by a beautiful set of African-inspired music by Derrik Jordan, Julian Gerstn, Tony Vacca, and John Hughes.
A spectacular performance with Diallo, N'Diaye, Keita, Lisa Newell, Georgette Beighle, and festival drummers and dancers rounded out the evening.
Many thanks for the generosity of all of the financial support from businesses that made it possible to bring Caro here and help cover some of the expenses of putting on the festival.
Thanks also go to all of the individuals who volunteered their time to making the festival happen and to all of the dancers and drummers that came out and participated in the classes.