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Special Collection
These KET videos provide examples of West African and African-American music, dance, and storytelling.
Performances include a Nigerian welcome dance and Togolese cleansing dance.
A Mahouka stilt dancer from Cote D’Ivoire performs a recreational dance and a sacred rite in honor of the spirit world, and a Malian musician performs Music of Mali and joins a drum and dance group in a dance of celebration.
A storyteller recounts “Anansi’s Rescue from the River,” a tale from the Ashanti of Ghana.
Music and dance from slave communities in the southern U.S. include performances of “Zudio,” “Hambone,” and the Plantation Dance/Ring Shout.
| RESOURCE | GRADE LEVEL | MEDIA TYPE |
|---|---|---|
African/African-American Culture: Anansi's Rescue from the RiverIn this video, storyteller Nana Yaa Asantewaa performs the story “Anansi’s Rescue from the River.” The Anansi tales are told by the Ashanti people of Ghana, West Africa, and have been passed down through the generations by oral tradition. |
1-8 |
Video |
African/African-American Culture: E Sin Mi D'AfricaBi-Okoto Drum and Dance Theatre performs a welcome dance that combines movements from several traditional dances of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. |
5-12 |
Video |
African/African-American Culture: Gue PelouMoha Dosso, a professional stilt dancer and musician from the Mahouka tribe in Cote D’Ivoire, West Africa, performs the Gue Pelou dance from the Ivory Coast.The Gue Pelou is a sacred rite used to honor and communicate with the spirit world and can be danced to protect the village. |
5-12 |
Video |
African/African-American Culture: HamboneFolk singer John McCutcheon demonstrates the hambone, an African-American rhythm technique that uses the whole body as a “drum set” to produce different sounds. |
K-8 |
Video |
African/African-American Culture: Kou KouMoha Dosso, a professional stilt dancer and musician from the Mahouka tribe in Cote D’Ivoire, West Africa, performs the Kou-Kou dance from the Ivory Coast.Kou-Kou is a communal recreational dance, often used to teach kids how to dance. Moha Dosso performs with the Kyene Drum Ensemble of Louisville, Ky. |
5-12 |
Video |
African/African-American Culture: ManjaniThe Imani Dance and Drum Company of Louisville, Ky., perform the Manjani, a West African dance that celebrates an important event such as the harvest (as in this performance), a wedding, or a naming ceremony. |
5-12 |
Video |
African/African-American Culture: Music of MaliYaya Diallo, a musician from Mali, talks about how he came to live in Kentucky, the healing properties of music, and his interest in new forms of African music that com¬bine the music of the elders with that of young people. |
5-12 |
Video |
African/African-American Culture: Plantation Dance/Ring Shout
The Plantation Dance/Ring Shout represents a style of dance and music found in African slave communities on plantations in the southern United States, Caribbean Islands, and other locations. |
5-12 |
Video |
African/African-American Culture: SohuBi-Okoto Drum and Dance Theatre performs Sohu, a ritual cleansing dance from Togo. |
5-12 |
Video |
African/African-American Culture: ZudioThis African-American game song is sung to movements described in the lyrics and demonstrated by the children in the audience. Many African-American music and dance styles emphasize rhythm and self-expression, both evident here. |
4-8 |
Video |
