Wednesday, November 14
6 p.m. Carnaval in Ghana: Fancy Dress and Performance Aesthetics
Dr. Courtnay Micots, Assistant Professor of Art History
This talk centers on the lively carnaval masquerade of Fancy Dress in coastal Ghana. Fancy Dress has become an integral part of local celebrations such as Easter, Christmas, New Year’s Day, harvest festivals and at members’ funerals. Fancy Dress street parading incorporates periods of intense dancing in front of chiefs’ palaces, hotels and public squares. In the Winneba city competition, held every New Year’s Day since 1958, four performance elements – a “march pass” and three types of dancing – are judged.
Event held in KOBC 101, LaRose Digital Theatre
7:30 p.m.Diali Cissokho & Kairaba – Senegalese Music Performance
Kairaba! is composed of Senegalese griot musician Diali Keba Cissokho, with North Carolinians John Westmoreland, Jonathan Henderson, Austin McCall and Will Ridenour. The band formed after Diali moved to North Carolina and began to look for musicians who shared his love and passion for creating music based on Manding tradition, flavored with local and personal styles. The outcome of this collaboration is an infectious sound reminiscent of West African dance bands full of unison melody, adventurous improvisation, fiery solos and polyrhythmic frameworks. With lyrics in Manding, Wolof, and English, Kairaba! illuminates its listeners with stories of ancient and modern West Africa and how they relate to today’s universal experiences and emotions felt by everyone, regardless of origin. Kairaba! invokes the participation of the audience in the creation of captivating musical moments that often incite spontaneous dancing by the performers and audiences alike, helping to create a peaceful and loving community.
Whitley Auditorium