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closeBringing a broader world view to Puyallup
West African music and dance performance brings to life
Chris Albert
As part of the Pierce County Reads campaign the rhythm, song and dance of West Africa came to life as audience members joined the Adefua African Music and Dance Company’s music and dance performance.
“The music of dance really shows West Africa,” said Afua N’diaye, director of the group. “It’s the life and song of the people.”
There were about 40 people in attendance for the April 7 performance at the library.
The first Pierce County Reads campaign covers Alexander McCall Smith’s book “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” which follows the adventures of a Botswana woman who starts a detective agency.
The performance featured different percussion instruments that provided the sound for songs and dance of welcome, stories and even how to settle differences through dance.
“This is an interactive part of West African Culture,” N’diaye said.
The drum was at the center and set the tone for each number.
“The drum is always the communicator,” N’diaye said.
The celebration of West African culture didn’t stop with the performers. Much of the performance brought guests out of their chairs to play instruments, sing along and dance.
It’s a matter of celebration and preservation of culture, N’diaye said.
“It becomes really important that we spread out,” she said. “We want to really come up.”
Connecting the local community with the world was one of the reasons for picking the Smith’s book, said Mary Jo Torgeson, director of the Puyallup Library.
“It’s really about building community,” she said. “The books really have a broad appeal among a lot of people.”
Working with the Pierce County Library system to provide a program in Puyallup has been an exciting endeavor, Torgeson said.
Bringing performances that celebrate culture and are so interactive are another way to bring literature to life, she said.
“That kind of communication helps us get beyond Puyallup and look at the broader world view,” Torgeson said. “When talking about literature you are talking about your soul and how you view the world.”
And like drummer Kanan Taplan said at the start of the performance “we’ll create something.”
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More information
> For more about the Adefua African Music and Dance Company go to www.planetafua.com.
> For more on the Pierce County Reads campaign go to www.piercecountylibrary.org.