Renton youngsters dance to Gansango’s West African music
The efficiency included a number of African drums, bells, flutes, singing and dancing.
The Gansango Music and Dance Firm carried out a routine that acquired everybody off their ft.
On July 8, the Gansango Firm performed West African music, largely from Benin, Ghana and Togo on the Sundown Neighborhood Park to an entertained younger crowd.
The efficiency targeted on a number of West African drums, but additionally included singing, dancing, bells and a flute. The 2 lead performers, Etienne Cakpo and Yaw Amponsah, taught the younger youngsters about their tradition and the completely different devices from throughout the globe.
“The three drums within the entrance are djun-djun from Mali and Senegal,” stated Etienne Cakpo, founder and lead director of Gansango. “The paholé is from Benin, that may be very non secular drum, we play it every year, however I requested permission to come back to Seattle and play it. Anybody who’s sick, when you play the paholé for them for 2 to 3 days, naturally they are going to heal.”
Cakpo has been working as an expert dancer in Seattle for over 20 years, persevering with his lifelong ardour for music and dance.
“I grew up taking part in music and dancing day-after-day,” Cakpo stated. “I grew up in a household the place my grandpa and grandma had been a drummer and dancer. I additionally discovered from my dad. Once I was 10, I made a decision to be an expert. I took some fashionable dance courses, and a few conventional dance in Africa.”
Rising up in Ghana, Cakpo has a deep connection to West African tradition. When he moved to Seattle together with his spouse 22 years in the past, he was decided to maintain and protect his cultural identification.
“It’s actually, actually necessary to maintain the tradition and share the tradition,” Cakpo stated. “The tradition is essential to maintain and to offer to the subsequent era, so we don’t neglect the place we got here from and so we don’t neglect who we’re.”
The title Gansango combines the 2 most necessary components of Capke’s life — his tradition and its music.
“Gansango means the bell and the shaker collectively,” Capko stated. “Gansango means you may dance as a result of when you can play the bell and shaker and when you play them collectively, you may dance for the remainder of your life.”
Whether or not in Ghana or Benin or Seattle, Cakpo highlighted how comparable all people are. He goals to unfold a message of positivity and inclusion.
“The tip of the day, we’re all the identical, all of us have the identical blood,” Capko stated. “I wish to share the peace. I really like when persons are collectively. I actually love seeing individuals stroll collectively and perceive life and no combating, no warfare.”
Pictures by Max Burchi/Renton Reporter
Pictures by Max Burchi/Renton Reporter
