Congolese Dance Workshop

When

October 9, 2022    
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Where

Forest Park Senior Center
4801 Liberty Heights Ave, Gwynn Oak, Maryland, 21207

Event Type

Map Unavailable

Mamma’s just want to dance…began as a gathering of women who loved to dance, who loved the rhythms of the drum, who loved the traditions and philosophies of our African forebears. Today we walk in the wisdom of our lived experiences as creative artists, culture bearers and community activists. As elders in dance, we affirm the importance of remaining in the dance for our health and well-being and as models of what is possible when we are physically active. We believe that our place is in the community, on the dance floor and on the stage, no matter our age, size or ability. As “Mothers” of African dance we stand firm in our belief that through dance, we can transform our communities with health, wellness, culture, and pride. Collectively, we have amassed over 50 years of history, traditions and wisdom that must be instilled in our community now more than ever before. To this end, we aim to elevate our youth to roles of leadership and responsibility in our communities, and to bring people of all levels together through dance and drum. Together, we can create shared opportunities for guest artists to bring rich cultural experiences to Baltimore and to celebrate our birthright as women who dance beautifully beyond any age or expectation.

Before Covid, in 2019 we brought together a Master Dancer and Master Drummers together to have a Congolese Dance Weekend, it was a remarkable success and the community loved it. The reason why Congolese dance is so popular lies in it’s cultural roots. Congolese African Dance Class introduces the fundamentals of various original ethnic dance forms found in the Congo in Central Africa. The students will be familiarized with multiple dances that define the cultures in the southern and northern regions of the Congo. These dances comprise the musical and dance polyrhythms, the pelvis activation and gyrations (which is one significant fundamental in this dance class), body movement isolation and rhythmic syncopation, body groundedness, original language terms and body vocabulary. This class teaches strength and softness, energy and grace, breath control and speed, musicality feeling and body coordination, body eloquence and assertive expression, generosity and confidence. These are the core qualities for each dance that the students will study.We want the community to see what is possible and pass it on. These unique qualities are what make Congolese style dance so great is that everyone at any level can do it! We believe that by combining the wisdom of the elders with the hope of our next generation we can come together and create the bridge from probabilities to possibilities.

This is Why we dance and Why we Must dance…Because it’s important to building a better Baltimore Community.