Kùlú Mèlé in Africa

If you missed the Kulu Mele piece on ABC-6’s “New Visions” – you can see it here:
http://www.abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=resources/tv_listings&id=5803934

original article here

Kùlú Mèlé’s two-weeks in Guinea, West Africa, result in premiere of African-ballet and documentary film, May 8 at Freedom Theatre
Kùlú Mèlé African Dance and Drum Ensemble will perform the U. S. premiere of Mali Sadjo: The Legend of the Hippopotamus, a theatrical ballet from Guinea, on Friday, May 8, at 8:00 p.m. as part of its 40th Anniversary Concert at New Freedom Theater, 1346 N. Broad Street. The premiere of a documentary film on Kùlú Mèlé’s recent residency in Guinea, providing insight into the creative process for learning this ballet, will be shown in conjunction with the performance. Tickets for Mali Sadjo are $25 and may be purchased at www.kulumele.org. Continue Reading »

read the story here

Dear friends,

Please join us next Wednesday, January 21st, from 6 – 8 PM to hear stories about the recent 2-week trip to Guinea taken by members of the Kulu Mele African Dance and Drum ensemble. They will talk about their adventures, their study with master artists Mariama Touré, and M’Bemba Bangoura, internationally recognized performers of traditional Guinea drumming and dance. And they will talk about the new dance they are working on. Welcome them home and get a first-hand view of what was a life-changing trip for many. Hear about how these local artists continue to school themselves in traditional culture, making it accessible to a new generation.

Kulu Mele: Travel Stories
January 21
6 – 8 PM
FREE
Philadelphia Folklore Project
735 S. 50th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19143
215.726.1106

www.folkloreproject.org

By Merilyn Jackson
For The Inquirer

‘Mission accomplished,” Dorothy Wilkie announced last month when she and her company returned to Philadelphia from a two-week dance residency in the West African nation of Guinea.

The mission had been to acquire new choreography for Kùlú Mèlé African Dance & Drum Ensemble, which Wilkie directs. But in Guinea, where temperatures were high and political tensions higher, company members also had their eyes opened, their artistic and cultural horizons expanded and – with one exception – just missed experiencing a coup.

The trip, a dream of more than seven years, had begun early Dec. 1 with a dozen company members assembled in the luggage-filled living room of Wilkie’s East Oak Lane home, excitedly awaiting the bus to their Royal Air Maroc flight from Kennedy International Airport. Continue Reading »

The President of Guinea, Lansana Conte, has died, aged 74.

He had ruled the West African country with an iron fist since 1984, when he took power after a bloodless coup, only the country’s second president.

The precise circumstances of his death are not yet known, but he had been suffering from diabetes. He was also a chain smoker.

National Assembly Speaker Aboubacar Sompare announced the death in a late-night statement on state television. Continue Reading »