Kwanzaa Concert, St Mary's Temple of Peace Church, 1106 Sheldon ~ 12/27/14
Kwanzaa has been around since 1965, a fact which may surprise many people. When we were offered free tickets to a Saturday night performance we jumped at the chance to experience something new. The evening ended up being more entertainment than education but entertaining it was. It started about ten minutes late, and we found friends!
The drummers looked like they were ready to roll but the leaders seemed a bit unsure of what was supposed to happen next (this happened a few times during the evening). Suddenly the drumming began, and it was loud and impressive. They were incredibly in sync with each other the entire night, stopping together (with one exception on one number) precisely at the conclusion of each piece.
The drummers are a multigenerational group known as the Kuungana African Drum & Dance Company, headquartered in Flint. The group was founded by, and is led by, Kevin Collins, better known as "Baba." He took center stage to greet us and to continue the program with a libation ceremony.
Here are some younger members of the troop, playing in perfect precision with their elders or raptly listening.
The West Michigan Jewels of Africa Traditional Dance Troop energetically danced to the drums and were led by the group's founder, Jewellynne Richardson, who introduced herself as "Momma Jewel." Besides her amazing dance moves, this woman had vocals like nobody's business.
Each dance was carefully choreographed and the group did fairly well at staying together. And there was no slow dancing. Our still photos are woefully inadequate but the video compilation caught more of this group in action.
This dancer was great but obviously did not check his pants beforehand because he had to keep hiking them up to avoid having them at his ankles.
More young drummers made an appearance (also in the above video). And at one point the very youngest wandered back and forth on the stage dragging a small drum ~ it was a great family/audience moment :-)
There was a brief intermission after about an hour and we were encouraged to shop at the vendor tables located in the foyer. There were some African made arts and crafts and other just miscellaneous "fashion jewelry." When we returned, the dancers had changed clothes and proceeded to move through the other Kwanzaa principles. And about 45 minutes later the show was over. Both Baba and Momma Jewel walked out into the audience to greet and meet people. And we took a few last photos ~ the table holding a decorative mat (mkeka), a candleholder (kinara), first fruits, and the communal cup. Just before the concert ended, Momma Jewel and Baba remembered the cup and shared a sip.
There's much more to learn about Kwanzaa, including the fascinating story of how it got its spelling, and you can get a 4 minute lesson from this video from History.com
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