On this balmy October night, the dynamic beats of West African drumming emanate from the second story windows of the Dance Mission Theater. Laughter too can be heard as a participatory dance party has developed at the conclusion of the Arenas Dance Company (Arenas) and the Duniya Dance and Drum Company’s (Duniya) Raíces et Résistance. The exuberance of the dance and music from Guinea and Cuba, around which the show is crafted, is energizing and many in the audience are drawn to join the throng of artists vibing together onstage afterward.
There is much to commend about this show which explores the deep ancestral connections between Guinea and Cuba through history, music and dance, presented with contagious excitement in a co-production between the two performance companies and the venue, Dance Mission Theater (weekends through October 20). Arenas, founded and directed by Susana Arenas Pederoso, preserves and promotes the Cuban folkloric and social dance traditions. Duniya, led by Bongo Sidibe and Joti Singh, concentrates on the traditional dance and music forms of West Africa and South Asia.
Pederoso welcomes us in Spanish, while Sidibe debates whether to greet us in his native Susu or French, the language of Guinea’s colonizers. Despite the absence of English, one grasps the deep respect and connection between these two and the cross-cultural exchange they have shared in their visits to each other’s country.
Raíces et Résistance showcases the companies in alternating numbers, flowing seamlessly from one to the next, displaying the similarities between the countries’ music and movement. Each new dance brings a new costume. Richly realized, they are one of the many pleasures of the production and help us track the national source of the succeeding numbers. Vivid geometric prints distinguish the Guinean tunics and cross-bodied dresses, while white clothing is predominant in the Cuban segments. The arc of the presentation carries us from traditional dances, through those of energetic resistance moving toward liberation, and concluding, after intermission, with post-revolution selections.
With joyful driving urgency dancers take the stage, always accompanied by the polyrhythmic drumming of the ever-present musicians, lining the back of the stage. Seeing the dances in relationship to each other helps us see the parallels. Both Guinean and Cuban dances draw from African movement vocabulary. Rolling their shoulders and hips, dancers involve their whole bodies, maintaining an energetic elasticity in their bent limbs as these barefoot dances incorporate flatfooted scuffing, stamping, and hopping steps. Their torsos tilt to the earth, reflecting a deep connection to nature.
These cultures emphasize the collective, rather than the individual, and we feel the power of cohesion as the movement surges in flowing unison of their churning arms and propulsive steps. Each individual’s gesture is similar and yet beautifully unique, the small variations enriching the overall fabric.
Dancers spin around themselves or thrust rhythmically to the four corners. Groups form circular and linear patterns with friendly rivalries developing on occasion. An ensemble performs an animated jig in challenge to another, who responds with their own variation. The rhythms vibrate through the bodies as they dance in homage to spirits or ancestors, summon strength and energy, make offerings, and celebrate survival and independence. Carrying machete-like tools, or wooden crooks, the performers chop, recalling their agricultural labor. One wants nothing more than to join the vivacious party as the stage fills with the Arenas women swirling their wide circle skirts, their swooping arms creating a wind of their own.
Raíces et Résistance dancers at Dance Mission Theater; Photo J. Norris
The male dancers are particularly athletic, offering impressive improvisational solo tricks. The most impressive of these enters midair with a front flip followed by a series of side flips. His grass skirt casts off fronds midair, accenting the extreme height and speed of this flourish.
The Resistance section begins with a “Sofa,” a warrior dance offered in honor of the unsung women who fought for Guinea’s independence as well as for Hadja Mafoury Bangoura, a famous freedom fighter whose gun-toting image is projected above the bandstand, while onstage her doppelganger, glazed in red light, moves stealthily, scanning the horizon from her low crouch. Alert to danger, she carries a wooden weapon and is soon joined by a posse of women, whose steely eyes support the fierceness of their gun-wielding dance.
Taking a break from the high energy, a ritual entitled “Tiriba Ceremony” to manifest Guinea’s independence is undertaken. A man, in a long white tunic and linen cap, carries a wooden bowl and a red-feathered blessing tool which he dips and waves over each drummer at the back of the stage. Placing the bowl centerstage, he pantomimes washing his arms, head, and face with its contents. Women, in grass-skirts and bras covered in African cowrie shells, lay offerings of fruit around the vessel, and cleanse as well.
After more than a dozen dances, Act 1 concludes with a spirited piece, featuring songs and dances from Palo, the African diasporic religion developed in Cuba during the late 19th Century. The performers use substantial wooden staffs to pound out a rhythm. Holding the stick upright they lean away arching backward, before assuming a pose on one knee, stick at the ready, as a story of perseverance unfolds in Spanish. We feel the weight of their work as they trudge with their poles balanced across the back of their necks, their arms draped to balance the load. Forming a circle, they point their sticks high into the center, creating a pyramid of solidarity and revolt. The Guinean dancers join their comrades. All assume a wide-legged-squat while raising their fists. Defiant yells echo as the lights fade.
Raíces et Résistance dancers at Dance Mission Theater; Photo J. Norris
Guinea and Cuba had successful revolutions at similar times, Guinea in 1958 and Cuba in 1959. Samples of the art and culture of post-revolutionary times is the focus of the second act, which leans more heavily into the musical developments. The Duniya Drum Company leads the way with call and response drumming. A singer/guitarist performs ‘Minia Ba,’ a traditional griot song, here adapted to use modern instruments including an electronic bass, keyboard, and amplified back-up singers to augment the acoustic drums. Per program notes, this arrangement recalls Guinean music as influenced by touring Cuban orchestras.
Evoking the steamy excitement of Cuba’s nightclubs, dancers rhumba and salsa, their hard-soled Oxfords contributing to the fast and furious syncopated beats of the band, their sequined bustier sparkling as they shimmy.
Raíces et Résistance dancers at Dance Mission Theater; Photo J. Norris
The finale bridges the African and Cuban ethos into an exultant full-company celebration, with 40 artists onstage. What a treat it is to experience these two magnificent Bay Area organizations in this partnership, which both amplifies and emphasizes their unique culturally-based-artistry and reveals the foundational musical and movement traditions and evolving legacy of their people.
Review by Jen Norris, published October 13, 2024
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