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Aggielife
Page 3 • Friday, February 26, 1999
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Thiam brings chance to learn culture and workout with tribal dance workshop at Student Rec Center
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BY STEPHEN WELLS
The Battalion
itter bug, two step, lambada, tango and the waltz
have made their mark on the American dance
floor.
Tomorrow, from 3 to 4:30 p.m.. Amadou Thiam
11 bring his West African dance and drum workshop
the Student Recreation Center, teaching students
significance of his art while they sweat to the beat
ian African drum.
Amadou Thiam is a dancer, originally from Sene-
lin West Africa.
He toured the United States with the Second Na-
[nal Ballet of Senegal, and has performed and taught
ditional West African dance for more than 10 years.
After his tour with the Second National Ballet of
legal, Thiam formed the Lam Toro traditional West
rican dance and drum company in Sacramento,
lif, which has performed throughout Northern Cal-
rnia.
Between practices with Lam Toro, Thiam taught
being and drumming classes at the Sierra 2 Com-
nity Center in Sacramento.
iThiam later moved to Texas to stay close to his fi-
jcee and has continued his teaching, traveling the
country to do workshops. He
stays so busy that the
workshop at Texas
k_ A&M took almost a
year to put together.
“1 wanted to be
near my fiancee,”
Thiam said. “So
I’m trying to con
tinue my teaching
in Texas. She
came to medical
school here and
we decided we
couldn’t do a
long-distance
relation
ship. I’ve
still
My uva/
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erfromt
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ation pie
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ers: Ttiei
5:30 pii
been working a lot, sometimes more than one work
shop a week. One year ago they tried to bring me here
but I was too busy and my schedule would not allow
it. This year it worked so that 1 could come.”
Students can expect to learn a variety of dance
styles at the workshop.
“I’m teaching West African rhythm and dancing
from Senegal, Mali, Guinea and Gambia,” Thiam said.
“They will all be traditional dances. Usually they are
used for celebrations like weddings. All the dancing I
will teach is religious or cultural and has a deeper
meaning.”
Thiam said the workshop will not be just another
seminar. Those participating will have the opportuni
ty to dance.
“It will be .a dance practice,” Thiam said. “We will
start by warming up just like a dance practice. Then
we will practice on the drums and on the different
dance steps as individuals. Finally, we will combine
it all and do everything together.”
Dr. Kathy Dettwyler, an associate professor of an
thropology, said people dance for many reasons.
“There’s all different kinds of reasons why people
will dance,” Dettwyler said. “They dance at religious
ceremonies and weddings, just like we do. They dance
at child naming ceremonies and at the beginning of
the harvest season. They do dance for fun, but it’s not
like you will see
at the Tap,
where men and
women dance
together for
companionship
or to start dat
ing.”
Dettwyler
said the tradi
tional West
African dance is
a group activity.
“African
dance is not like
dancing here,
where you usu
ally dance with
a partner,” Det
twyler said.
“There are usu
ally a lot of peo
ple standing in
a circle, and a
few drummers
beating out a
rhythm. Every
now and then,
somebody will
go to the middle
and strut their
stuff.”
The class is
Graphic ay JP Beato/ I m l$.vi i amon j 10 t limited tO
those who want to learn to dance.
An integral part of traditional dancing is the drum
ming accompanying it.
“All drummers are welcome to come,” Thiam said.
“If I’ve got some drummers to come to my workshop
then it will be easy to teach them the part they need
to know. That way, I can concentrate on teaching the
other things I want to do.”
Drumming and dancing share an intimate rela
tionship in West Africa.
“There is usually more than one drummer pre
sent,” Dettwyler said. “The
rhythms they use are very
complex, with each drum-
r1fi Ira irtb
mer performing a com
pletely different part.
It’s very catchy and
you can dance to
it. The indi
vidual
parts
fit to
gether
into a
whole,
and the
pattern for
each drum
mer can be
complicated, but it
sounds wonderful.”
Traditional African
dance is not as distant as
the name “traditional” im
plies.
Several of the most popu
lar club dances today have their
roots in African dance.
“There are all kinds of move
ments, such as flapping arms to
represent wings and making eating motions,” Det
twyler said. “There is one dance females do to attract
males. She will bend forward at the waist with her
hands on her knees and twitch her bottom around.”
Students who are planning on attending the work
shop should come prepared to dance.
“I think it will be a fairly participatory event,” Det
twyler said. “My husband was thinking about taking
our seven-year-old to the course and he was told if
they were shy it might not be a great idea. If you go
you will be dancing in front of others and with oth
ers.” v
Students should not expect the average fitness
workshop. West African traditional dancing is as
much about the culture as it is the dancing itself.
“If a student wants to learn something about West
Africa, where dancing and drumming have a great
deal of meaning, they should come,” Thiam said.
Aggi es Up All Night
4th Annual Fundraising Event
benefiting
Children's Miracle Network of the Brazos Valley
February 26-27, t999
Friday 6 p.m. - Saturday 6 p.m.
Duncan Dining Hall
For additional information: Sarah Elliott, Director at 693-3740, sarah.m.elliott@juno.com
auan @ stuorg.tamu.edu
http://stuact.tamu.edu/stuorgs/auan
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