20 1

Upcoming Events:
WILLIAMS SYMHPONIC WINDS AND OPUS ZERO BAND
STEVEN DENNIS BODNER DIRECTOR CHAPIN HALL FEBRUARY 20TH

CENTERSERIES INTEGRATED PROGRAMMING: SCREENING: MIRACLE IN MILAN

LAURIE ANDERSON Q&A/RECEPTION IMAGES CINEMA FEBRUARY 25TH

CENTERSERIES PRESENTS: DELUSION

A NEW WORK BY
LAURIE ANDERSON
COMMISSIONED BY THE
2010 VANCOVER OLYMICS

MAINSTAGE FEBRUARY 26TH & 27TH

CENTERSERIES INTEGRATED PROGRAMMING: PANEL DISCUSSION PERF. POLITICS:

NEW OCEANA, DANCE AND RESISTANCE DIR. STUDIO MARCH 1ST

CENTERSERIES PRESENTS:
BLACK GRACE
NEW ZEALAND’S
LEADING CONTEMPORARY
DANCE COMPANY

MAINSTAGE MARCH 2ND

CAP AND BELLS PRESENTS: THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT

DIRECTED BY NOAH SCHECHTER '12 ADAMS MEM. THTR. MARCH 4TH TO 6TH

WILLIAMSTHEATRE PRESENTS: SHAKESPEARE'S TWELFTH NIGHT, OR WHAT YOU WILL

DIRECTED BY ROBERT BAKER-WHITE CENTERSTAGE MARCH 11TH TO 13TH

WILLIAMS DEPARTMENT OF DANCE PRESENTS: INISH

DIRECTED BY HOLLY SILVA MAINSTAGE MARCH 12TH & 13TH

THE BOX - MUSIC BY LIVING COMPOSERS CENTERSTAGE MARCH 15TH

For more information go to:

http://62center.williams.edu
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Tuesday-Saturday 1 pm to 5 pm

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 2 19

Stalwart Originality: Notes

New Traditions in Black Performance
Presents

New Meanings:
Afro-descendant Percussion Practices

Williams College & Mass MoCA

February 12-14, 2010

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Stalwart Originality: New Tradi-
tions in Black Performance. Created by Annemarie Bean and Sandra
Burton, Stalwart was developed to nurture artistic and academic inter-
est in expressions informed by African traditions. Integrating practice
and theory, Stalwart provides a context to explore these traditions, as
well as new forms of music, dance, media, theater, literature and mul-
tidisciplinary art. This year, Arif Smith, Assistant Director of the Multi-
cultural Center and Berta Jottar, Assistant Professor of Latina/o Stud-
ies, are curating New Meanings: Afro-descendant Percussion Practices,
a symposium that will network percussion practices from West Africa,
the Caribbean and the U.S.

Interactive workshops, lecture/demonstrations, panel discussions, and

media practices will serve as a platform to engage with the following
questions: How are these practices interrelated? How do we historicize
the dialogue between these practices? Are the conversations between
these traditions recent, continuous or contiguous, and why? How are
these practices impacted by migration and exile? What factors contrib-
ute to changes in percussive style? What contexts do the Diaspora and
globalization create for the formation of new, hybrid styles and sound-
ings? What are the new cultural meanings of these traditions?

STALWART ORIGINALITY: NEW TRADITIONS IN BLACK PERFORM-

ANCE is sponsored by Williams College, the Dance Department, the
Multicultural Center, the Music Department, Africana Studies, Campus
Life, the Dean’s Office, Latino/a Studies, the Gaudino Fund, the Black
Student Union, Claiming Williams, Latin Percussion (LP), the Williams
College Lecture Committee, and co-presented with MASS MoCA.
 18 3

Notes INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS

Bomba by Ilu Aye

Bomba means in Kikongo language “secret.” The bomba music and
dance tradition dates back to the Spanish colonial slavery era, and was
brought to Puerto Rico by the Saint Domingue diaspora. It is the most
African-rooted form of all Puerto Rican folklore, and performed with
barriles (bomba drums) originally built from wooden barrels. Its main
characteristic is the call-and-response vocal relation between the solo
vocalist and the chorus, as well as the dialogue between the solo drum-
mer (primo) and the solo dancer. The dancer is the leader—his or her
movements dictate the primo’s responses. There’s an element of antici-
pation as the dancer tries to rhythmically outmaneuver the drummer.
Improvisation is central to bomba performance but rooted in a deep cul-
tural knowledge.

Doundounba by M’bemba Bangoura and Bashir Shakur

Doundounba (the dance of the strong men) is a rhythm and dance from
Guinea. In 1959, after Guinea gained independence, newly elected
president Ahmed Sekou Toure commissioned musicians to create new
Doundounba rhythms for social interaction and engagement throughout
the country. Doundounba has over 40 rhythmic versions; today,
Doundounba is equivalent to a party.

Kpanlogo by Jason Lucas & Rob Michelin

Kpanlogo is a popular form of music and dance originating in Accra,
Ghana at the end of the 1950s. It is still performed and danced socially
because of its ever-evolving repertoire and meaning. The youth culture
within the Ga community was looking for a new form of expression.
Kpanlogo got its sound from some of the instruments that make up the
traditional instrumentation of the Ga people: Kanganu, Axatse,
Gankogui (bell that plays a pattern that is considered to be “son clave”
most recognized in Cuban music), Sogo, Kidi and Kpanlogo drum. The
dances are emblematic of the connections between Ghana and the
United States at the time because Rock ‘n’ Roll became popular as it
was introduced through imported American films. Movements like “the
twist”, and others were incorporated into the Kpanlogo repertoire.
Kpanlogo quickly became a sexy, ruckus inducing, youth movement
that solidified the idea that a “glo(c)al” community had been developed
and was continuing to grow; carried on the shoulders of afro-urban
youth around the world.
 4 17

Rumba by Ilu Aye Credits

Rumba is a Cuban cultural practice, a secular form, and the polyrhyth-
mic synthesis of the various West and Central African ethnic groups Stalwart Originality
that arrived to Cuba during colonialism: Lucumí (Yoruba), Arará, Con- Sandra Burton, Director
golese, and Calabar with Spanish gypsy traditions. Most studies situate
rumba’s birth in the late 1800’s, sometime between the abolition of slav- New Meanings Concept/Curation
ery and independence from Spain. Formally, rumba is based on the Arif Smith & Berta Jottar
interplay between the singer, three drummers, dancers and the chorus.
A lead singer, a secondary singer and a chorus comprise rumba’s har- Fundraising
monic element. Three musicians provide the polyrhythmic base, each Isabelle Holmes
one playing a different type of drum: The tumbador or salidor, the tres- Arif Smith
dos, and the quinto -a drum traditionally designed to do most of the mu-
sical improvisation. Rumba’s most popular styles are: The Yambú, a Production
rhythm danced mostly by the elder couples. The Guaguancó, a couple’s Arif Smith
dance based on competition and seduction -the male performs a pelvic Isabelle Holmes
gesture called the vacunao symbolic of sexual possession. The Colum- Berta Jottar
bia, which music differs from the yambú and the guaguancó, is based Bashir Shakur
on the competition between predominantly male dancers. Mary Wright

Shekere by Ahmondylla Best Web Design

This workshop will empower each participant with the skills necessary justin adkins
to play this beaded gourd instrument in any traditional, religious, mod-
ern, cultural or popular musical genre. West Africa's magnificent ancient Symposium Intern & Graphic Design
griots (story-tellers), male and female, would travel from village to vil- Omar Mendez
lage broadcasting the events of the times. They grandiloquently took
pride in the lifelong profession of carrying on the oral traditions of their ’62 Center Staff
families and villages. While the kora and lute are the most well known Brad Berridge, Sound & Media Supervisor
instruments used to color the griot stories with melodic drama, the Cosmo Catalano, Technical Supervisor
shekere was often used to announce to a village that some juicy tidbit Randal Fippinger, Manager, Performance & Events
of gossip was about to be shared. Shekeres among the Yoruba of Ni- Willa Simon, Assistant Manager, Performances & Events
geria are often connected with religion, given great respect, and play a Nathaniel Wiessner, Technical Director, MainStage
very important role in certain traditional musical forms. Shekeres are
part of the djembe ensemble, religious and cultural ceremonies and Special Thanks
celebrations in western Africa. They originated in Africa centuries ago, Ernest Brown
functioning as a shaker, rattle, and drum. The session will focus on tra- Leslie Brown
ditional African as well as improvised rhythms, tone, precision, tempo, Rachel Chanoff
dynamics, and stamina. Ed Epping
Matt Gold
Traditional Afro-Haitian Drum Ensemble Music by Frisner Augustin Elizabeth Green
Kareem Khubchandani
This workshop explores the ibo and nago rhythms which came to Haiti
Leonor Mamanna
from Nigeria via the Igbo and Anago peoples. The rhythm of the Ibos,
Images Cinema
who committed suicide as resistance to slavery and as a means to re-
turn to Africa, accompanies the dead on their journey home in Vodou
funeral rites. Nago is about power, and brings down the spirits who usu-
 16
ments” (including David Gilmore and Don Byron) in which radical con-
ceptual pieces were refined for performance. A drummer and percus-
sionist, Michael Wimberly is also a triple threat: he is a composer of
note and has written for prestigious New York dance companies (Alvin
Ailey Dance Theater and Joffrey Ballet). Although his percussive reper-
toire is replete with traditional rhythms, Michael is known for playing
cutting-edge music involving a meld of visuals and audio, not to men-
tion a penchant for contemporary jazz.
Pablo Ellicott Yglesias (DJ Bongohead) is a Cuban-American
graphic designer, artist, DJ, percussionist, exhibit curator, and writer.
His book Cocinando: 50 Years of Latin Album Cover Art was published
in 2005 by Princeton Architectural Press. He was guest curator for the
exhibit American Sabor, a traveling multi-media music show created by
The Experience Music Project, Seattle, and Washington State Univer-
sity. He writes for Latin Beat, Hispanic and Wax Poetics magazines. He
has also created music compilations for The Rough Guide, Nascente,
and Vampisoul labels.
5
ally manifest as warriors. The two styles are prominent in performances
of Afro-Haitian music and dance in the diaspora. Traditional Afro-
Haitian drum ensemble music is a heritage from West and West Central
Africa fused and developed in Haiti since the French colonial period
(eighteenth century). More than two dozen traditional styles compose
today’s repertory, although some of these are becoming rare. Each
style works with dance movement and song, traditionally in the context
of sacred ceremonies and in tandem with work brigades and Carnival
processions. In Haiti today, and in the Haitian diaspora, drummers per-
form on public stages and through recorded and broadcast media. Such
changes in context entail modifications of instrumentation, phrasing,
and other dimensions of the music.
LECTURE/DEMONSTRATIONS
Drumming as an Extension of Language: The Djembe As Model by
M’bemba Bangoura, Atiba Rorie, Bashir Shakur and Michael Wimberly
Presenters will focus on the tri-tonal speech patterns of the Mandinka
language of Guinea, West Africa and how they relate to three basic
Djembe notes. They will explore how these dialects have been used
and preserved in the United States since 1958; and how their complex
structures exist within the Djembe Orchestra of today.
Pan-African Sensibility: Contemporary Sounds by M’bemba
Bangoura, Atiba Rorie, Bashir Shakur and Michael Wimberly
From “Highlife” to “Hiplife”, from Fela Kuti to Youssou N’dour, and for
the past fifty years Continental Africans have used western instruments
within many traditional music concepts and settings. This lecture dem-
onstration will focus on how African sensibility is utilized in contempo-
rary music using the Djembe drums. Presenters will fuse the rhythmic
elements of traditional African music into contemporary jazz, orchestra,
hip-hop, r&b and funk. Presenters will examine historical context and
demonstrate how rhythmic syntax is used to fuse these genres.
Regla de Ocha & Batá Religious Drumming by Román Díaz &
Pedrito Martínez
By focusing on Elegba, the Yoruba deity that opens and closes our
paths in life, Díaz and Martínez will analyze the sacred voice of the batá
drums. They will demonstrate the aural conversation between the three
batá drums in order to elucidate the complex spiritual relationship be-
tween sound and Orisha presence within the Regla de Ocha (Santeria)
Afrocuban religious practice.
 6 15
PANEL DISCUSSION
Beyond The Physical Drum: Critical Connections in the Diaspora by
Sonny Allen, Barbara Browning, Berta Jottar, and Bobby Sanabria
Panelists will discuss sound and gesture as performances that negoti-
ate and articulate cultural encounters and intersections within the Afri-
can Diaspora. Allen will elaborate on his strategies as a musician and
Lindy Hop dancer who crossed over to NYC’s Salsa On-Two move-
ment. Browning will trace some of the seemingly contradictory choreo-
graphic paths Neguinho do Samba (founder of the influential Bahian
bloco afro Olodum) trademark rhythm, samba-reggae, has taken, both
at home and abroad. Jottar will analyze the gestures of members of the
Abakuá society in New York City’s rumba scene as spiritual bridges to
both, their ancestors and their native Cuba. Sanabria will analyze the
role of the clave as a connecting rhythm between the Anglophone and
Spanish speaking Caribbean music world.
VIDEO SCREENING
Conflicto Rumba: The Persistence of Memory by Berta Jottar
The performance of rumba in Central Park is an internationally known
music event, as well as a trademark of Afro-Latina/o public culture in
New York City. After 35 uninterrupted years of rumba performances in
the Park, Mayor Rudy Giuliani halted the events for two years as part of
his Zero Tolerance rubric. This film is an experimental ethnography of
the public conflict between the rumba community and the New York
City Police between 1999 and 2001.
PRESENTERS
Sonny Allen is a Savoy Ballroom and Palladium dancer, Harvest Moon
Ball Champion (1958), and founder of “The Rockets.” One of his more
recent successes was his run in the off-Broadway production, “Así se
Baila un Son” (This is how you dance a Son) produced by Merian Soto.
Allen was not only the headlining dancer but also was a collaborating
choreographer. According to Nancy G. Haller: “Sonny Allen never re-
sorted to tricks or outrageous costumes to seize and retain the audi-
ence’s attention. While the rest of the dancers were busy gyrating
astride chairs or writhing on the floor, tossing their long hair and execut-
ing stratospheric high kicks, this mambo master demonstrated how
much can be achieved through sheer grace elegance and a lifetime of
theatrical experience.” He also functioned as technical choreography
advisor for, and appeared in, Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X” film.
twenties, Café moved to Rio with a theater troupe and also studied
technique at the Villa Lob School. From 1976-1979 he performed in the
National Arts Program entitled Seis & Meia and began touring in 1980
with the likes of Chico Buarque de Holanda, Milton Nascimento, Djavan
and Simone. Café moved to the United States in 1985; immediately he
began working with top artists, including Roberta Flack, James Last,
Sadao Watanabe, Phillippe Saisse, David Byrne, the New York Samba
Band, Tania Maria, Herbie Mann, Larry Coryell, Mor Thiam, Gato Bar-
bieri, Vinx, and Harry Belafonte. As a session percussionist, Café has
collaborated with Jose Neto, Chuck Mangione, David Leibman, Eliane
Elias, Gilberto Gil, Ernie Watts, Paquito D’Rivera, Sergio Mendes,
James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, and trumpeter Randy Brecker’s Grammy
winning album “Into the Sun.” In 2004, he toured with Steve Winwood
and his own band, Café Quintet.
Tyshawn Sorey is a composer, performer, educator, and scholar work-
ing across an extensive range of idioms in experimental music. Origi-
nally self-taught in composition, piano, trombone, and percussion, he
has performed with chamber ensembles and collaborated with a di-
verse array of musicians including Muhal Richard Abrams, Ray Ander-
son, Wadada Leo Smith, Steve Coleman, Michele Rosewoman, Peter
Evans, Mat Maneri, Steve Lehman, Mario Pavone, Ellery Eskelin, Vijay
Iyer, Dave Douglas, Mark Helias and Butch Morris, among many oth-
ers. Sorey’s recent article, “Music and Meaning,” discusses his ap-
proach to composition and improvisation. (ARCANA IV: Musicians on
Music Ed: John Zorn, 2009) Sorey has also conducted and participated
in various lectures and master classes on improvisation, ensemble
playing, and critical theory at the International Realtime Music Sympo-
sium in Norway, Hochschule für Musik Köln, School of Improvisational
Music, Musikhochschule Nürnberg, Berklee College of Music, and Cité
de la Musique in Paris. Tyshawn is also on the faculty of Brooklyn’s
School of Improvisational Music and New School University’s Jazz and
Contemporary Music program, and has received commissions from Van
Lier Fellowship and Roulette Intermedium, most recently for a multi-
chapter work in progress entitled “Wu-Wei,” recently premiered in its
entirety at The Stone in New York City, where he served as curator in
August 2009.
Michael Wimberly was raised in Cleveland, Ohio in the seventies, and
set off for New York in 1982, quickly carving out a niche for himself, not
so much in conventional hand percussion circles but in duets, quartets
and larger ensembles with unique or experimental instrumentation. For
example, with Steve Coleman, he collaborated on many projects -live
and in the studio- including the creation of “The Five Ele-
 14
of Puerto Rican parentage is a 2006 Bronx Walk of Fame inductee hav-
ing a permanent street named after him on the Bronx’s famed Grand
Concourse. He was awarded the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award by
KOSA. Mr. Sanabria was a consultant and featured in the documentary
LATIN MUSIC USA, which aired nationally on PBS in October 2009.
Bashir Shakur was born in the Bronx, New York into a musical family.
By the age of 10, he joined the Collage Dance Company. In Durham
N.C., Shakur worked with Artistic Director Sadiyah Shakur in compos-
ing music for "The Magic Drum", and later became the group’s first Mu-
sical Director. He also collaborated with neighborhood groups such as
Aleanfe' Children's Drum and Dance Company in "Babu's Magic", Afri-
can American Dance Company in "Luyala", among others. While at-
tending high school, Shakur studied music under longtime composer
and arranger Dr. Clarke Edgerton, and Darryl Spellman; and co-wrote
the Drum line's award winning composition "Pandemonium." Shakur
also received mentoring from Dr. Khalid Saleem, Ayinde Hurrey, Hur-
rey-Up, Willie Terrel, Jim Dorsey, Titos Sampa, Biza Sampa, Chief
Bey, Fahali Igbo, Modibo Keita, Mamady Keita, and Pop Gadston. In
1995, Shakur’s professional career flourished participating as a dance
accompanist with The American Dance Festival, Katherine Dunham
Institute, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, among others. From 1999-2001
Mr. Shakur served as Musical Director for Chuck Davis and the African
American Dance Ensemble, Collage Dance Company, and The Uhuru
Percussion Ensemble. After a short tour with Freddie McGregor, Sha-
kur returned to New York City in 2002 where he performs with the Ur-
ban Bush Women, Peridance International, Shiloh Vibrations, Mark
Perryman Jazz Collective, Mor Tiom, Joffrey Ballet School, Reparations
"The Musical" Alvin Ailey, Youssouf Koumbassa, Yalani Bangoura,
Drum Power Inc. and many others. Shakur is currently Co-Artistic Di-
rector of Kusika, and Musical Director of the Dance Department at Wil-
liams College. Mr. Shakur would like to thank Allah for all his many gifts
and blessings.
Café da Silva is a percussionist, singer, composer, and recording artist
founded his career on a deep understanding of the indigenous rhythms
of Africa and South America. In Sao Paulo, when Café was only eight
years old, he became fascinated with the rhythmic pulsation that per-
meated the religious gatherings he attended with his parents. At eight-
een, he commenced a period of classical training leading him to the
Municipal Symphonic Orchestra of Sao Paolo. Café excelled in his
“legit” studies but there was only one problem, he couldn’t shake the
rhythms he had heard as a child. In the nightclubs, he heard those folk-
loric patterns manifested in the jazz and pop music of the day. In his
7
Frisner Augustin was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1948 and stud-
ied ritual drumming in the temples of Vodou, an Afro-Haitian religion. In
1972, he immigrated to New York where he established himself as a
master drummer in Vodou rituals, performer for Haitian community festi-
vals, and drum instructor. In 1981, Augustin took over the artistic direc-
tion of the company La Troupe Makandal, and has performed with the
Troupe across the United States, in Europe, and, most recently, at the
Tokyo Summer Festival. His recordings with Makandal (“A Trip to
Vodou,” “Erzili,” “The Drums of Vodou,” and “Prepare”) feature his set-
tings of traditional Afro-Haitian dances. He has recorded with jazz artist
Kip Hanrahan, Jonathan Demme for the “Beloved” soundtrack and most
recently Haitian American jazz drummer, Andrew Cyrille. Because of
his dedication, he received a People’s Hall of Fame award from the cul-
tural center City Lore. In 1999, the National Endowment for the Arts
awarded him a National Heritage Fellowship, which in the U.S. is con-
sidered the highest honor in the traditional arts.
Ilu Aye (literally, “The Drum of the World” in Yoruba) was founded in
2004 by a collective of individuals to celebrate the connections between
the peoples and cultures of the African Diaspora. Bringing together the
next generation of Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cuban percussionists
and singers, ILU AYE is dedicated to preserving and promulgating the
rich cultural legacy of Africa in the Americas and the Caribbean through
performance, educational workshops, and community-centered gather-
ings where the rhythms of the African Caribbean reign. Trained by mas-
ter musicians from all three islands, and versed in sacred and popular
rhythms such as batá, guiro and rumba (Cuba); bomba and plena
(Puerto Rico); and palos, salves, and kongos (Dominican Republic),
ILU AYE interprets traditional songs and reinvigorates the genres with
original compositions by the young virtuoso akpwon, Osvaldo “Bembe”
Lora. ILU AYE has performed at numerous venues around New York
City, including but not limited to: the internationally renowned SOBs,
various State Universities of NY, Teatro La Tea, CAMARADAS at el
Barrio, the legendary Nuyorican Poets Café, the Cingular Stage at the
National Puerto Rican Day Parade Festival, The Hostos Center for La-
tino Arts and Culture (CUNY), and Lincoln Center Out of Doors (La Ca-
sita).
M’Bemba Bangoura has traveled throughout the world as a performer
and teacher of African drum and dance and is revered worldwide for his
high level of mastery. As a native of Guinea, West Africa, M’Bemba be-
gan drumming at a very young age. By the age of 21, he was acclaimed
as a master drummer and was invited to play for Ballet Djoliba, the
most respected ballet company in Guinea at that time. Since moving to
the US in 1992, M’Bemba has been an integral part of most major drum
 8 13
and dance conferences nationwide. He has taught hundreds of stu-
dents, many of who are now teachers themselves. In addition, he has
personally created choreography and developed repertoire for dozens
of dance companies in New York City and abroad. M’Bemba is one of
the foremost ambassadors for Guinean drum and dance.
Ahmondylla Best is founder of AHMONDYLLA BEST & WOGBLE-
DOE, and has co-directed and performed for numerous Off-Broadway
productions including: “Africa Now Now,” co-directed and performed
with Sandra Burton, choreographer and Director of Dance at Williams
College, and Ernest Brown, Professor of Music at Williams College.
Best was also music director of “The Darker Face of the Earth,” written
by US poet laureate Rita Dove, directed by Tony award winning ac-
tress/director Trazana Beverley; and solo flutist/steel pannist for “Two
Towns in Harmony” Community Project, composed by Janet Albright
conducted by Vicki Carter. Best was featured percussionist in “The
Warrior Ant” by Lee Breur and Bob Telson, and the author of
“Kinswoman,” “Wogbledoe,” (co-produced with DTW, collaborated with
choreographer Sandra Burton and actress/director Trazana Beverley).
Her films include “This Can’t Be My Life,” “Forward Motion,” and
“Women of the Calabash” for PBS's “Alive from Off Center.” Best has
performed with Women of the Calabash (five years, The Monarch Merit
Award), violinist John Blake, drummer Horacee Arnold, vocalist
Rachelle Farrell and a cappella group Sepia.
Barbara Browning is Associate Professor and former Chair of Per-
formance Studies at New York University. She received her BA, MA
and PhD in Comparative Literature from Yale University. Also trained as
a dancer, Browning researches primarily the expressive culture of Brazil
and the African diaspora. She published her first book Samba: Resis-
tance in Motion, winner of the de la Torre Bueno Prize for an out-
standing work of dance scholarship in 1995. She went on to publish
Infectious Rhythm: Metaphors of Contagion and the Spread of African
Culture, in 1998, and her articles have appeared in anthologies, as well
as such publications as Dance Research Journal, TDR, Dance Chroni-
cle, and Women & Performance. She has served on the boards of di-
rectors of both the Congress of Research on Dance and the Society of
Dance History Scholars. She is also a member of the editorial board of
Women & Performance, and the advisory board of DRJ.
Román Díaz was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. He is a master per-
cussionist and priest in the Abakuá and Regla de Ocha Afrocuban relig-
ions. He was trained by the elders in the fine arts of classic Afro-Cuban
musical traditions, performed with the prestigious group of Yoruba And-
M.S. in Education that concentrated on the effects of urban music in the
urban math classroom. Michelin currently teaches at Arts and Media
Preparatory Academy in Brooklyn, where he directs a youth percussion
ensemble called, “Hands Down”.
Atiba Rorie’s passion for music began when he was a young child. His
love of music and talent for percussion has evovled into a successful
career. He has studied with a wide variety of impressive artists includ-
ing Babatunde Olatunji, Fahali Igbo, Bradley Simmons, Chief Bey, Osei
Appiagyei, Tito Sampas, Andrew Cacho and Famoudou Konate. More-
over, his studies have taken him as far as Ghana and Guinea. Rorie is
an arresting performer; he has shared the stage with the Andrew Cacho
African Drummers and Dancers, Resounding Steel, Collage Dance En-
semble, as well as Winard Harper and the African American Dance En-
semble. He has toured with Baba Olatunji’s drummers and dancers
and has performed at Dance Africa in New York at the Brooklyn Acad-
emy of Music. Rorie has also performed in two presidential inaugura-
tions and in 2005 performed in a Drums of Passion tribute to Olatunji at
the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Columbus,
Ohio. He frequently performs with Elements of Percussion, Carnavalito,
Djembe Fire and Urban Afrikans. Rorie received a BA in Music in the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has been an artist-in-
residence at many schools including North Carolina School of the Arts,
Radford University, and Winston Salem State University. Rorie currently
teaches West African percussion at Guilford College and is an accom-
panist at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and The
American Dance Festival in Durham.
Bobby Sanabria is a percussionist, composer, arranger, conductor,
producer, educator, filmmaker, and multi-cultural warrior. Sanabria was
the drummer for the Mario Bauzá Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra recording
three Grammy nominated albums with Maestro Bauzá who is consid-
ered the father/creator of Afro-Cuban jazz. He has recorded and per-
formed with Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaría, Chico
O’Farrill, Ray Barretto, Henry Threadgill, Candido, Paquito D’Rivera,
Arturo Sandoval, Larry Harlow, Marco Rizo, Hilton Ruiz, too name a
few. His nonet and quartet recordings, “N.Y.C. Aché” and “Quarteto
Aché” are considered cult classics by Modern Drummer Magazine. His
first big band recording as a leader, “Afro-Cuban Dream - Live & in
Clave!!!” was nominated for a Grammy in 2001. In 2003, he was nomi-
nated for a Latin Grammy for "50 Years of Mambo, A Tribute to
Damaso Perez Prado”. His latest recording is the 2008 Grammy nomi-
nated, “Big Band Urban Folktales” won the 2008 Jazz Journalists
Award for Best Latin Jazz Recording of 2008. This South Bronx native
 12
Pedro Pablo Martínez has been both a featured artist and a major
player on several Grammy-nominated recordings, “New Congo Square:
Vol. 3” with Irvin Mayfield and Bill Summers, Yerba Buena’s ground-
breaking album, “President Alien,” Stefon Harris, Bebo Valdez and El
Cigala album “Lágrimas Negras,” and “Raíces Habaneras.” Born and
raised in Havana, Cuba, Martínez began his musical career at the age
of 11 performing as vocalist and percussionist in an Afro-Cuban folkloric
ensemble directed by Juan Bencomo. He built and established a repu-
tation as one of the up-and-coming folkloric singers and percussionists
on the Cuban scene. His final major collaboration in Cuba was with per-
cussion master Tata Güines who put him to the test in his show at the
Café Habana cabaret, not only drumming but also singing and dancing.
Two years later, he met Jane Bunnett at a jazz festival in Havana, she
invited Martínez to perform in Canada with her Spirits of Havana en-
semble in 1998. Then he decided to pursue his career in the United
States, and soon after, Martínez won first place Afro-Latin Hand Drum-
ming contest in the annual Thelonious Monk Institute competition. Since
then, Martínez has performed, recorded, and/or toured with Brian
Lynch, Steve Turre, Kip Hanrahan and his “Deep Rumba” project, Hora-
cio “El Negro” Hernández, Me’shell Ndege’Ocello, Bilal, Bill Summers,
Jerry and Andy González, Mark Weinstein, John Santos, Arturo “Chico”
O’Farrill, the LP All-Stars, Stefon Harris, Eddie Palmieri, Antonia Ben-
nett, Paquito d’Rivera, Bebo Valdés, Steve Coleman, to name a few.
He has shared the stage with the Conga Kings (Candido Camero,
Patato Valdés, and Giovanni Hidalgo), Pharaoh Sanders, Jon Faddis,
James Carter, Dave Murray, Taj Mahal, Richard Bona, Herbie Hancock,
Cassandra Wilson. Martínez is one of the main faces of Yerba Buena,
an Afro-Cuban/Afro-Beat fusion band; and the leader of the rumba-
timba-son-ensemble group Ibboru.
Robert Michelin, Williams College Class of 2003, received his M.A. in
Ethnomusicology at University of London: School of African and Orien-
tal Studies. After developing a keen interest in the music of Zimbabwe
and Ghana as an undergraduate, his focus of study included transatlan-
tic transmission of musical traditions between Africa and the Americas,
and while at SOAS he also began his study of Cuban music and Bata
drumming. He has performed along side Bernard Woma, Obo Addy,
Kakraba Lobi, Paul Winter, Forward Kwenda, Abby Dobson and others.
For the last four years, he has been a visiting artist at Williams and
worked with the Zambezi Marimba Band, arranging and composing
pieces to add to their repertoire, coordinating with Salt Productions,
Michelin curates events with themes that include tributes to musical
greats like Stevie Wonder, Fela Kuti & Prince, as well as soul and con-
scious hip-hop. Michelin’s most recent academic endeavors include a
9
abo, and is a direct disciple of the legendary Francisco Mora “Pancho
Quinto”. In the USA, he organized a performance ensemble called “Omi
Odara,” a Lucumi phrase meaning “pure water,” or “water that blesses,”
because “there is nothing more pure than water.” They perform ritual
Santeria, Abakuá, and Palo Monte music, as well as continue the
rumba and Son lineages of Arsenio Rodriguez, Chano Pozo, and Igna-
cio Pineiro’s Septeto Nacional. Díaz’s ensemble is distinguished for
respecting these traditions through artful and passionate performances
based on deep research and ritual knowledge. He has collaborated
academically with Ivor Miller and other scholars, and released his latest
CD recording “Enyenison Enkama” inspired by Abakuá cosmology.
Berta Jottar is an artist/scholar, former member of Border Art Work-
shop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo (1988-1992), and founding member of
Las Comadres Art Collective (1991-1993) in San Diego, Ca. Her current
work focuses on dance and music in the Afro-Latin diaspora. Jottar re-
ceived her Ph.D. in Performance Studies from New York University
(NYU). Her thesis “Rumba in Exile” focused on New York City’s rumba
music scene for which she received The Cynthia Jean Cohen Bull Me-
morial Award for Academic Excellence at TISCH School of the Arts,
NYU. In Havana, Cuba, she has collaborated with Gregorio Hernandez
“El Goyo,” Miguel Angel Mesa “Aspirina,” and “Pancho Quinto” in sev-
eral video projects. She recently produced the rumba CD “The Routes
of Rumba” with Pedro Martínez and Román Díaz; the CD includes an
innovative interactive rumba. Jottar is an assistant professor of Latino/a
Studies at Williams College.
Jason Lucas is the son of Chicago jazz saxophonist and flutist Bernard
Lucas. Jason began playing drums at the age of 5 in his father’s band.
Growing up, he was an active member of Drum Corps International
(DCI), and achieved the title of statewide champion on snare drum by
the age of 7. At Williams College he joined both the Williams College
Dance Program and Jazz Ensemble. Finding a new home in Kusika,
over the next four years, he had the opportunity to study with artists
such as Bernard Woma, Abu Bakari Luna, Obo Addy, and many others.
He was an accompanist in percussion for the Williams College Jazz
Ensemble, and has performed original pieces written by its director
Andy Jaffe. Jason created a senior thesis in conjunction with the Music,
Theatre, and what is now the Dance Department which culminated in a
stage performance of original music, dance, and choreography. Upon
graduation Jason received the Kleinhandler Award for Excellence in
Music. He is currently the drummer in Dragons of Zynth; a psychedelic
soul rock band based in Brooklyn, NY. Their first album “Coronation
Thieves” was released in 2007, and they are currently in the studio re-
cording their second album to be released in 2010.
 10 11

Stalwart Originality: At a Glance 1200p LUNCH: Greylock Dining Hall

FRIDAY (2/12) 1200p Artist Market: CenterStage Lobby

1000a Bus departure from NYC to Williamstown 100p Panel: CenterStage

10 Ave. between W43rd St. and W44th St. Beyond the Physical Drum: Connections in the Diaspora
by Sonny Allen, Barbara Browning, Berta Jottar &
300p Registration/Reception: ‘62 Center for Theatre & Dance Bobby Sanabria

Ongoing Interactive media installation: CenterStage Lobby
Exodus
400p Lecture Demonstration: Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall
Drumming as an Extension of Language: The Djembe
as Model by M’bemba Bangoura, Bashir Shakur,
Atiba Rorie & Mike Wimberly
530p Video Screening: IMAGES Cinema
Conflicto Rumba: The Persistence of Memory by
Berta Jottar
215p INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP SERIES II
Dance Studio: Rumba by Ilu Aye
Directing Studio: Traditional Afro-Haitian Drum Ensemble
by Frisner Augustin
Shared Studio: Bomba by Ilu Aye, Shared Studio
400p Lecture Demonstration: CenterStage
Regla de Ocha & Batá Religious Drumming
by Pedrito Martinez & Roman Diaz
630p DINNER: Mass MoCA, Club B10

830p Opening Concert: CenterStage 700p Lecture Demonstration: Club B10

Symposium Introduction Contemporary Jazz Functions
Pedrito Martinez & Roman Diaz – NYC by Tyshawn Sorey
Kusika – Williams College
The Zambezi Marimba Band – Williams College 800p The Pedrito Martinez Project CONCERT opened by
The Percussion Ensemble – Williams College DJ Bongohead @ Mass MoCA, Hunter Center
Café da Silva – NYC Followed by guest artists Jam Session and DJ
Ilu Aye – NYC Flaco @ Mezze. 777 Cold Spring Road, Williamstown

1000p Artist Market: CenterStage Lobby SUNDAY (2/14)

SATURDAY (2/13) 930a BREAKFAST: CenterStage Lobby

830a Breakfast: CenterStage 1000a Roundtable Discussion: Directing Studio

900a Lecture Demonstration: CenterStage
Pan-African Sensibility: Contemporary Sounds by
M’bemba Bangoura, Bashir Shakur, Atiba Rorie & Mike
Wimberly
1015a INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP SERIES I
Dance Studio: Doundounba by M. Bangoura & B. Shakur
Directing Studio: Kpanlogo by J. Lucas & R. Michelin
Shared Studio: Shekere by Ahmondylla Best
The Diasporic Link: From Clapping to Turntables
1115a FINAL Interactive Workshop: Dance Studio
Connecting the Diasporic Circle by Bashir Shakur
1230p Closing Remarks: Dance Studio
100p Artist Market: CenterStage Lobby
200p Bus departure to NYC. ‘62 Center rear entrance