Dec. 12 Annual Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration

Moves to CMAC this Year

By Susie Davidson

CORRESPONDENT

This year, it will be in a different locale, but the food, warmth, dance, culture and camaraderie will happily be unchanged. Tomorrow evening, the Art of Black Dance and Music’s Pre-Kwanzaa celebration will be held at the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center at 41 Second St. in East Cambridge. Featured will be performances by the Art of Black Dance and Music Ensemble, the Silimbo D'Adeanne West African Dance Company, and added local talent. However, the attendees participate fully as well in other rituals such as the “table ceremony,” where in addition to the discussion of the principles of Kwanzaa, and tributes to cultural and personal ancestors, people will get up and speak about theirselves, their cultures and their connections to the ceremony.

The cultural festival of Kwanzaa, a Kiswahili word meaning "the first fruits of the harvest,” begins on Dec. 26 and lasts for seven days. It was founded in 1966 by Dr. Ron Karenga, professor and chair of the Department of Black Studies at California State University at Long Beach. The African-American and Pan-African holiday is also celebrated in Africa, the Caribbean and in South America (especially Brazil), as well as in Britian and other European countries.

“Kwanzaa was developed out of the struggles for equality during the civil rights movement,” said De Ama Battle, who founded and directs the Art of Black Dance and Music. “It provided a link to Africa as a point of origin.”

This year, Carol Hill, Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. School’s After School Program, who along with ABDM has hosted the event for the past 28 years, was going to be away. Battle was able to secure the new location after speaking with CMAC Director Shelley Neill, who welcomed the event.

ABDM, based in West Somerville, seeks to celebrate cultural diversity though creative performing arts programs at schools and at community gatherings. “Our mission,” said Battle, “is to bridge cultural gaps by teaching the common history of humankind through African-rooted dance, music and folklore, and to entertain audiences of all ages with culturally diverse expressions of African-American heritage.”

Artist, educator and dance historian Battle, who received the 1995 Commonwealth Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the 1993 Achievement in the Arts Award for "bringing the heartbeat of African and the Caribbean Islands to Boston," and the Arts and Humanities Award from the Massachusetts Black Caucus, has a vast and varied dance background. She continues to attend intensives and workshops at varied sites including Cuba and Florida. She has studied, taught and/or performed in many countries including Ghana, Senegal, Gambia, Togo, Burkina Faso, Suriname, Brazil, Jamaica, Trinidad and Cuba. She choreographed and performed in the International Festival of the Arts in Nairobi, Kenya at the 1995 NGO Conference on Women.

ABDM’s Harolyn Bowden, who performs in local companies and also posssesses a strong modern and African-rooted dance background, has led the organization into further African-American dance forms.

Their Curriculum Enrichment Program, which includes African art, music, dance, visual arts and folklore, underscores the organization’s residencies, workshops, lectures, demonstrations, teacher-training seminars, and public performance concerts. Over 50,000 people benefit annually from ABDM programming, which spans underserved community populations of Roxbury and Dorchester neighborhoods as well as more culturally homogenous areas such as Salem and Marblehead, and serves students and educators in public and private institutions as well. Audience members vary widely in age and background.

The Silimbo D'Adeanne (“Sunrise on Adeane,” a village of Senegal) West African Dance Company will also perform. Director Fatou N'Diaye-Davis Fatou N'Diaye-Davis, who teaches at the Dance Complex, has danced professionally for over 25 years and has also taught at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, Harvard University and various local schools.

The mood will be as tasty as it will be festive. “People are usually asked to bring a dish of their favorite food,” said Battle, “to be placed on the sharing table.” The food items run the gamut, since so many ethnicities attend, including Italian, Portuguese, African-American, West African, Asian, Hispanic and more. Past offerings have also included West African dishes such chicken yassa (chicken and rice dish), plantains, chiebujinn (fish and rice with cabbage, carrots, gravy, hot peppers and African seasonings). “It’s a mix,” noted Battle, “reflective of the diverse community.”

Next year, the King School community-raised Battle expects it will return to the usual locale.

The event, which will last approximately two hours, is free and open to the public, thanks to the support of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Art of Black Dance and Music, Inc.: the 29th Annual Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration

This is a free event. The Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center is located at 41 Second St, Cambridge, one block from The Cambridgeside Galleria Mall and accessible by the Green Line Lechmere Station or the 69 MBTA bus. For more information, call 617-666-1859, 617-577-1400 or visit www.cmacusa.org.