Dances of children highlight African culture festival

The 14th annual Celebration of African Cultures began and ended with the loud and vibrant rhythms of drums. The Saturday event, which featured performances and activities throughout the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, drew hundreds of people from all over the region. Still, event coordinator Tena Thomason thought the snow might have deterred some of the less adventurous among the 1,200 expected visitors. But for the many in attendance, the performances by the Universal African Dance & Drum Ensemble were the highlight of the day. The group's second performance -- which concluded the festivities -- featured not only drumming, singing, dancing and a stilt walker, but also extended acrobatic displays. The audience clapped along to the beat while young children pointed out the child performers to their parents, clearly surprised to see kids their size on stage. Another heavily attended favorite was a West African dance workshop, where children danced to drumbeats in front of ancient pillars in the Lower Egyptian Gallery. Mecca Madyun, a 2001 College graduate, led the children in dance while parents lined the room, all cheering and moving to the beat. "I love that there are so many different kinds of kids that come and that it exposes them to something new," Madyun said. Yetunde Andrews, who has been coming to the annual celebration for the past eight years -- even after moving to New Jersey -- also commented on the event's garnering "more of a diversity." Her 8-year-old son Kheti was one of two boys participating in the dance workshop. Andrews explained that in recent years, the celebration has also become "more interactive." "It gets the children stimulated," she said. After the workshop, when the children had left, Madyun was still dancing and the drums were still beating. "That's how we are," Madyun said. "It's so much energy that's involved in this." Both Madyun and 2002 College graduate Matthew Simon, who served as the drummer for the workshop, were once members of African Rhythms -- Penn's African drum and dance troupe. Still loyal to his roots, Simon was wearing his African Rhythms T-shirt. Yet, the event wasn't all beats and drumming. An excerpt of Liberian playwright Joe Gbaba's The Resurrection was performed in the dome-shaped Harrison Auditorium. Gbaba described the play as a religious story with "an African twist." He saw the event as an opportunity to "foster cultural tolerance and understanding." In fact, he said the hope that "people will be able to appreciate Africans for who they are" was a major source of inspiration for his participation. Kate Liszka, a first-year grad-student in the department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, wandered the museum in a brightly colored replica of an Egyptian funeral mask. The mask was one of three premiered in December by International Classroom, a program run by the museum, whose mission is to promote intercultural understanding. Besides being frequently asked how she was able to see (the marks that looked like shadows were actually holes for her eyes, nose and mouth, she explained) Liszka fielded questions pertaining to ancient Egypt. "I get to tell [the kids] all sorts of interesting things," Liszka said. Besides the event's educational value, Thomason mentioned an added benefit of the day's celebration. "We get a lot of first-time visitors for these events," she said.