For the first time, the “Living Rhythms” performance delivered by the Tam Tam Mandingue Djembe Academy was hosted by the Black Student Union (BSU) to display cultural West African music and dance.
The event, mostly organized by club adviser Tracy Taylor, was meant to catch the attention of students while at lunch.
“It was something that the district recommended for us,” Taylor said. “They sent out a flyer for Black History Month. We were expecting a little bit more; we were expecting dancers but no dancers came. However, the students looked like they were really enjoying themselves.”
The Tam Tam Mandingue Academy is internationally recognized for their educational drumming programs and has provided services in over 275,000 schools in the US alone. BSU was thrilled for the performance to come to the school.
“Personally, I feel like we got ourselves an amazing opportunity, not just for BSU, but for the whole school,” Co-President Rediate Hunde said. “To have a chance for them to come here and share a little bit of culture and their dances for our students provides our school with more cultural diversity and it brings events that are inclusive.”
The performance was part of BSU’s mission to further promote Black History Month as well as give students the chance to learn more about black culture.
“We wanted to go all out for February and show as much culture and history as we could,” Hunde said. “We wanted to show our cultural dances. We’ve made videos about historians, mathematicians, scientists, and other historical figures. We’re sharing facts, and we want to bring more culture into the school.”
Students were shocked when their lunch was interrupted by the loud beating of drums signifying the start of the show.
“I heard some drums and immediately turned my head,” junior Ryan Cruz said. “I was confused at first, but I started to follow along and was engaged with the music.”
Following the drums were the dances, and some students felt connected to the performance.
“It was pretty cool that they [the academy] brought their culture to the school, and I was about to dance to it,” senior Nadea Atkins-Dowd said. “The music really resonated with me because I’m African American, and it brought out a different side in me because I’ve never been to Africa, so it was cool seeing it.”
Taylor believes the event was successful, and that it could be a breakthrough in allowing other cultural performances in the future, with BSU already planning their next event.
“With other clubs, I think we need to get a little bit involved,” Taylor said. “There can be more opportunities within the community and a bunch of different little things. We do have a special event coming up at the end of the month with a DJ involving a lot of dance, and they can give the students some swag. So, it’s basically the same thing with more crowd involvement.”
