kuma do b’anw fe

[I have an idea to express to you]

Today in djoun djoun I learned the really difficult rhythm of Korajuga. I really love the feel of the oral tradition- not just in analysis and theory, but in applying it to a really fun instrument that is crucial to my exploration as a musician, dancer, and artist in Mali. In learning the djoun djoun and learning more dances I've started to realize how Malians practice dance and separate them using their stories and histories and recognize them based on their djoun djoun lesson. In America we separate dance based on style and the types of steps/movement in a given dance and while that's true in some ways, there's so much more to it!

After an adventure in the Fadgigila market to buy some cloth and a hours of working (and video chatting with the family!) in the cyber café I realized I hadn't really given a report of where my work has progressed after talking to Sekou, Seydou, and the directors at the Children's Center! Well here goes:

My specific goals and plans in addition to documenting and learning dances, songs, and djoun djoun rhythms for my work in the Mande program at Brown are to:

1)    Engage the directors at the Djoumanzana Children's Center in conversation about the needs and goals of the center. I'm hoping to have a fundraiser when I return to Brown. How could a small sum of money be useful for the Center and where would it be best spent?

2)    Teach English Class at the Djoumanzana Children's Center in the afternoons for young teens interested in learning English for communicating with tourists, academic purposes, or an interest in traveling/studying abroad. I will also be teaching an adult class in the evenings at Yeredon for our instructors, family, and friends to pick up some English with the same goals in mind.

3)    Host a Bambara poetry contest at the Djoumanzana Children's Center around the prompt "What advice or wishes would you give to a baby or younger sibling born in your community?" and work with the winners to compose a Lullaby with the idea that its written and intended for children, by children, and relevant to youth culture and reality in Djoumanzana.

4)    Record the children at the Center singing at least a verse of "Sumaya"- a song about Malaria that was composed by Joni, a Malian artist, that I learned last summer and recorded with students at Brown from the Mande class. What's great about this project is that the track will be of Brown students and children at the Center singing together in solidarity, a collaborative theme I really wanted to tackle.

5)    Make a music video for "Papi" a young Coublibaly who is very passionate about Hip Hop and wants to grow as an artist. Papi, myself, as well as the children at the Center will choreograph the dancing, and we will film the dances in different settings around the Djoumanzana neighborhood. This will be a fun artistic project for all involved and it'll be a great way to advocate for the ideas and concerns of the youth in the community.

6)    Work with and record Awa Togo, a talented teenage singer who I met last summer. I want to work with her and collaborate in her growth to become a young performer in Mali. I think she'll be a great leader at the Djoumanzana center in assisting with some of these other projects but also composing and performing music.

7)    Hopefully find young artists and actors to work on creating some art and photo scenes to showcase back at Brown

The ultimate idea is to take these projects back to Brown and host a multimedia exhibit to showcase the music, art, and agency of children from the Djoumanzana community and continue the conversation about transnational collaboration and art rooted in social justice and reflection.

jinidon, sodon yeredon nyogon te

[knowing the tree, knowing the house, knowing oneself is better]

Today I learned the djoun djoun rhythms of Sounou, a dance we taught in Mande last spring, and Sungurru Banni, a dance we're learning this summer in Mali. After my lesson, Madou gave me some really touching words of encouragement telling me that he is very proud of my ability to play the rhythms he's taught me exactly as he wants them to be played and that I could be a master drummer if I spent more time in Mali studying djoun djoun! He also told me he thinks of me as his student, his son, his brother, and his friend! After lunch I worked with Sekou on learning about the history and tradition of Sungurru Banni and learned a song called "Nama Buru." Sungurru Banni which translates in meaning to "the young flirtacious girl" and Nama Buru is the name of an horn-type instrument used as a trophy for the hardest worker on a given day on the farm. The traditions is such that young farmers will work on the field and make competition to be named the Nama Buru of the day, winning praise from the peers and the women as well as the privilege to blow the Nama Buru to begin the dances of praise. The song was really fun to learn and hopefully Sekou and I have enough time to make a Nama Buru with materials from the market!

Thinking about the history and people dynamics in "Nama Buru and the kind words of support from Madou today made me think about the quality of relationships I have developed not only in Mali but back home with my family and friends. Malian culture thinks of relationships in very categorical systems with very particular characteristics assigned to different "roles" in society based on kinship, age, gender, and social class. Not only has this cultural experience helped me to appreciate my experience here in Mali, but its given me a lot of context for all of the support I've received from my friends and peers, but particularly from my parents who have been incredible in guiding me and supporting me in every crazy endeavor I've taken on from Little League baseball, dancing folklorico, lessons for this and lessons for that, making me practice this and making me practice that, to understanding my goals and desires later in life and trusting my process of learning from my choices and experiences. I miss my brothers (shoutout to Ryan who just started college and Remi who just started at a new middle school) and cant wait to be back with my friends back at Brown (shoutout to Derbies + Greenhouse + Blair, Sara, & Ria) but with such fulfilling and jam-packed days here in Mali I know that I'll look back on my time in Mali as too short! 

doni doni kononi b’a nyaga da

[little by little the bird makes its nest]

Since the craziness and awesomeness of the other toubabous is gone it was kind of weird walking around an emptpy house but Sophie and I knew today would be a day for adjusting and catching up on work we hadn't been doing all this time. Today's Djoun Djoun lesson was so amazing. For my first rhythms, I learned Didadi & Tonsole, two dances I've danced before with Michelle. Music in Mali is learned orally, meaning the most you'll ever get on paper is the words to a song (which I think is really just to make American students feel more comfortable) and also meaning that there is no Malian system for musical notation- a system I like and rely heavily on in my music studies back home. The "notation" barrier wasn't to extreme for me in my djoun djoun lesson today because I've been studying Malian music traditions for almost three years now and I think I was able to break most of that barrier last summer.

In terms of applying this concept of the oral tradition to learning an instrument, the djoun djoun is very new for me in practice and so it was initially a challenge for me to adapt to Madou's style of teaching within this tradition. After an hour of repeating patterns after him, getting the hang of the different timbre's assigned to different parts of the rhythm, and fine tuning the immensely particular rhythms of the cadences, I started to notice that after only an hour of guided practice, I was taking these rhythms to memory fairly well considering it takes me hours or days of practice to memorize music (or most things rather) from the form of notation I rely on back home. I'm not sure if it's the context of my experience in Mali, my connection to Malian music, the teaching practice of Madou, or the oral tradition, but today I feel really accomplished in managing to learn two rhythms on the djoun djoun. I think the lessons I learn from Madou's teaching practices will be especially useful in thinking about my own teaching practices here in Mali at the Chidlren's Center but also back home in thinking about multiple intelligences and differentiated instruction.

After getting a lot of progress today on my thesis (yes, I'm transcribing interviews while I'm in Mali), my work with Breakthrough, and really concrete planning for the activities and projects with the Children's Center I feel really great and adjusted to this summer in Mali! I know the potential and limitations for myself and those I'm working with and as a result, and its been really refreshing to not have any major of learning curve, I've been able to jump right in and hit the ground running (two idioms in a row!) which is something I was really nervous about all summer.

toubabous chaman chaman taara

[all the toubabous left]

This afternoon a few of us went to the Djoumanzana Children's Center for some of the other Brown students last day in Mali (they've been here for about 2.5 weeks now). I was so excited to visit the center and hang out with the kids for the afternoon but I was also ready to talk to the director of the center about the plan for my involvement for the rest of my stay in Mali. As Rob, Navarra, Jess, Sekou, Lagi (who mysteriously appeared as we were walking), and I walked down the road we were of course greeted along the way by many neighborhood children shouting "toubabou!" and joining us on our way. Before we knew it we had a parade led by us toubabous with what felt like all of Djoumanzana's neighborhood children trailing behind.

As we were walking Rob decided to get silly and turn around suddenly and quickly with a "BOO!" and all of the kids jumped back- some giggled and one even fell over. Rob was bringing some toys, clothes, and school supplies for the center so he decided to help the kid up and give him a fancy and colorful ball-thing-a-ma-bob to make up for the misunderstanding. It was a pretty cute moment. 

By the time we arrived at the Children's Center, we had about 2 or 3 children holding each of our two hands and about 10-15 more kids behind us. We were greeted by Bakari, one of the directors and sat down with him under the patio. The afternoon playing with kids was so fun! I got to see some familiar faces and my toubabou friends got to finally see and interact with the Center, which was so fun. We took photos (which is a fun activity for the kids in itself), played basketball, played on the fading playground, and played catch with one of the fancy and colorful ball-thing-a-ma-bobs Rob brought (though it was accidentally tossed and lost in a neighbor's backyard- oops!). Aside from being really fun and refreshing (I was really missing my SB O-team and friends!), this afternoon was really fruitful in getting me pumped about my work with the Chidlren's Center for the next two weeks. I thought up some great ideas and the chaos of playing around all day actually helped me to organize my thoughts and plans. I briefly chatted with Bakari before leaving and we decided it'd be best for me to start working for the afternoon this coming Monday!  I'm going to work with Sekou and Sophie this weekend to plan and prepare!

Tonight we took some of the Coulibaly teens (Nafi, Ali, Amadou, and Djibi) out for dessert at L'Relax for the toubabous last night in Mali. We chatted for a while and had a great time just hanging out and reminiscing about their stay. They are leaving late tonight around 3am for the airport! We'll miss them- starting Thursday, Sophie and I will be the only toubabous left!

donodon tulo be taa kalanso

[everyday the ear goes to school]

After rehearsal this morning a group of us went to the rehearsal space to observe District D’Bamako Dance Troupe’s rehearsal. I saw District D’Bamako last summer and it was great to see some familiar faces and experience professional dancing and performance in Mali. Some things you might expect or demand from a professional company in America are of little priority in a Malian company and this is true vice versa. After the performance we were (of course) called up to dance and this was also really fun! Wouldn’t it be great if the New York Ballet Company called up the audience after Swan Lake or if Beyonce dragged the audience on stage to sing along to Halo? Thinking critically about performance during this rehearsal also really jump-started my own mental drawing board for my work in Mali and at Brown.

After a great time with District D’Bamako, Michelle and I traveled with Alhasan, one of our master drummers, to a recording studio for a listening session to for Alhasan’s band’s album. The album was in the final production stages and Alhasan really wants to get Michelle and I involved in the process of making the album actually happen- financially, artistically, and logistically. We gave some input on the album-which actually sounds really great- and I’m going to design the album art free of charge to save Alhasan some money. Michelle and I are brainstorming about returning to Brown to raise money to subset the rest of the production costs too! I smell a Balonni coming! I’m not sure if it was the setting of listening to a beautiful Malian album in the works at a charming recording studio attached to a Malian’s house or if it was the actual experience of taking the time to listen to an album in its entirety, but I think I definitely need to use music as a way to provoke my creative practice and ideas because my marker was just running rapid in my “idea notebook.” I began mapping out my exhibit for the fall and the pieces that will be showcased and this was really exciting because just as any work evolves a great deal after the initial planning process, this process of planning and organization felt really clear and clean. I can visualize what I want the show to look like and I have some really clear and intentional ideas for the pieces I want to complete in my next few weeks in Mali to critically engage youth in Djoumanzana and continue my process of collaboration among students at Brown, artists in America, and artists in Mali. What a productive and fulfilling day!

jito ka so te jo

[a fearful person's home will never be built]

Today we woke up for a two-hour soutraman ride to Siby to hike up the highest point in Mande country. I'd never been to this part of Mali and spending the day hiking, jumping, and climbing the Arch of Kamandjan was just incredible and so much fun to experience with some of those staying at Yeredon from Brown, but also Sali and M'ba (our dance instructors), Sekou (our translator and resident expert on everything), and Ali (a friend we picked up on the way who is also a brilliant Malian painter). Some parts of the climb were actually kind of terrifying with very narrow and steep parts of rock for my feet and weight and balance. In some parts of the climb, I would slowly and steaduly butt-scoot or baby-step or move at the pace of a two-toed sloth while Sekou or any of the Malians would just skip by barefoot and without hesitation! It got me to thinking about fear and hesitation and whether my Malian friends were more skilled in cimbing the rocks of the Arch of Kamandjan or if they just had no fear about the feat. They claimed they just weren't afraid and I deliberated a lot about how much I might be restricted in my day-to-day life, my achievements, and my relationships with others by my own self-constructed hesitation and fear. I'm going to try and keep this is mind as I work on my drawing board for my life goals and aspirations but also in my artistic and advocacy work in Mali this summer.

All in all, reaching the top of the mountain, taking a breath of air, and gazing over Mande country was awesome and gave me a lot to think about and reflect on. What a day!  I need some rest!

seko ni donko bo

[nothing is better than art and culture]

This morning we traveled to Manyabougou to visit the studio of YaYa Coulibaly, a master puppeteer and one of the most illustrious Malian artists in the world. Michelle, our director, met YaYa in D.C. at an artist folk festival in 2003. I’ve read about YaYa’s work during my time at Brown so it was such a privilege to visit his home and see his work. We were given a tour of his home, which definitely had a museum-feel because of the thousands of puppets stacked in every corner. YaYa spoke about his work, which is rooted in a strong Donso (hunter) tradition and has been passed down his family line since the 6^th century! We sat in the shade and watched an extraordinary hour-length performance given by YaYa’s apprentices. It was apparent that the performers were very skilled dancers and also had a strong connection with their puppets- it was so much fun watching the performance and joining in to dance around at the end.

Apart from getting to see really amazing performers in a performative tradition I’d never seen live, one of the most interesting parts of the visit was seeing a performance of this caliber and of this genre against the backdrop of well, YaYa’s studio- there were no painted scenes, no landscape props, no curtains, and no stage- only the gate to his studio and a crowd of neighborhood children standing in it. We, the audience, were front-and-center but at the same time, sharing the performance space with the performers in a very communal way. I know this is typical for street parties, celebrations, and ceremonies, but since puppetry is known to be such an internationally-practiced genre of art and is so commonly performed with a mini-stage or some kind of performance-backdrop it was really interesting to see an elegant performance almost dislocated from the setting we would normally demand for this genre.

After the performance YaYa spoke about his tradition and also about being an artist, specifically a master puppeteer, in modern post-colonial Mali. He spoke to the general institutional displacement of artists in Bamako, where I noticed that similar to America, there is little financial subsidy for general art practices that are so central to their cultural tradition. The difference however, is that those most skilled and popular artists who would be wealthy celebrities in America, are not given the equivalent societal recognition or fortune in Mali- instead artists like YaYa choose a very modest lifestyle to practice what they love and what is endowed by their familial traditions. I would conjecture that America’s most notable modern musicians and performers of celebrité don’t have as strong of a bearing in American native heritage or colonial tradition yet still our modern cultural values them enough to afford them with fame and fortune. Because of this, many of the best and most talented Malian artists leave Mali seeking recognition elsewhere, leaving no one to carry on their cultural heritage locally. I think the setting of our performance today is a symbol of this displacement between artists and modern Malian society.

sanji ni finye balala nela

[the wind and rain surprised us all]

Today was really exciting because after rehearsals we went to the Modibo Keita Stadium near Hippodrome (just outside of Djoumanzana) to see a rehearsal for the huge performance at Mali’s anniversary celebration in September. This dance was chorographed by Sali and had over 250+ dancers- most of them were from the performing arts schools, but many are also professional dancers such as our evening dance instructors- Alhasan and Madu. This was a sight to see and words really cant describe the feeling of watching so many beautiful dancers moving together to really skilled choreography- unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photos or videos since the performance will be premiered at the celebration. If you’ve taken the Mande class at Brown or seen the students rehearsing, imagine that times ten, but…with Malians. During the rehearsal I was really able to get some insight into how Malians choreograph movement, interpret rhythms, and are conscious of the audience. There was a great deal of interaction between dancers and the choreography achieved themes and ideas beyond that of dancers simply doing steps in formations. I’m excited to take some of these ideas to the Mande class when I T.A. again in the spring!

After about a half hour of the rehearsal dark clouds began to roll over the stadium and much to our surprise, a tempest of rain and wind comparable to the hurricanes I’ve experienced growing up in South Texas suddenly hit and without a second of hesitation the 250+ dancers screamed and scattered like a bag of marbles dropping and just rolled into the stands with us for shelter. We shouted and laughed for a good half hour as the cold rain hit our backs- people were hiding behind chairs, under the stands, and behind the sound-booths- with dark music playing in the background the visual would have seemed like a rainstorm horror movie but it was actually a lot of fun and there were many laughs going around. We were supposed to go observe a rehearsal for the District D’Bamako Dance Troupe later that afternoon and since Sali’s rehearsal ended early, we took a cab to L’Relax, our favorite toubabou café instead of going back home. Chicken Chawarma! Yum!

Did I hit the hay early to sleep for 17 hours straight that night?  Yes.

i ni sogoma

[good morning mali]

This morning was my first day in Mali and it was great to wake up to the Djoumanzana sunshine from my window. Despite a late-night arrival and little sleep, I decided to wake up “carpe diem style” at 9am to catch up and have breakfast with the other students who have been staying at Yeredon. I have a lot of catching up to do in learning our dances- Dounounba and Sunguru Banni- but it felt great to move and see M’ba and Sali, our dance instructors. After 2 hours of producing Malian sweat in the dance studio, I had an amazing Djoun Djoun lesson with Madu, one of our drummers for dance class. I’ve never had instruction in Djoun Djoun so this was a real treat- I plan to take Djoun Djoun lessons after every dance rehearsal and Ngoni lessons in the evenings for the rest of my visit to Mali.

To top off a great day we decided to go to a night club- La Terrace- and had a blast chatting away, having some drinks, and basically starting the party with our toubabou moves. I hadn’t gone dancing in months so it goes without saying that Mali+dancing+dancers+Lady Gaga=fun. What a fantastic and exhausting first day in Mali! I can’t wait to get the ball rolling with my creative work and youth advocacy- I’m excited for things to finally materialize after months of planning craziness!

here be?

[is everything peaceful?]

After an exploit of public transit from Providence to Boston to New York to the JFK Airport, I'm waiting in terminal one feeling excited, anxious, and somewhat bemused. I am of course excited for the adventure I know is to come- last summer in Bamako truly changed my life and my perspective on the world and its people and I cannot wait for the creative process that awaits. I am anxious to land in the…charming Bamako airport in twenty-six hours and see my friends- toubabous and farafeets alike- but also to return to the U.S. for the more lackluster/hopefully invigorating processes of graduate school applications, thesis writing, money-making, and my work with Breakthrough. I am feeling bemused because as is true for many of my peers, graduation is only eight months away and the fraught mental flow-chart of directions my life could take right now remains in the back of my mind from the time I wake up every morning until I fall asleep (and sometimes even after that). I'm hoping my separation from American culture and stress will be therapeutic and reconcile my stresses and perspective so that I have the clarity to move forward with my creative, academic, and personal journey into the real world.

K'an ben kofe! See you in Mali!

US to finance new, Chinese-built airport in Mali

The U.S. Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is financing the construction of a new, 23- month project, airport in Bamako, Mali to "open up the country and ease air links between Mali and other countries, improving commercial connections and reducing costs." It is currently exceedingly expensive to fly to the Bamako airport- hopefully this new project will be a huge success and boost the job market in Bamako to support travel to and from West Africa. The new airport is projected to serve 1.5 million passengers per year and will hopefully serve as an opportunity for the landlocked Mali to participate in global market and trade and boost their weak infrastructure.

Because this will open doors for new airlines and lower flying costs in and out of Mali, this project could be huge for artists, musicians, and performers interested in collaborating and generating international awareness about the culture and performative traditions of Mali. Not only will finances hopefully be less of a burden for traveling artists but some of the infrastructural gains that could result from this project might make Mali less of a perceived "risk" for interested visitors and travelers.

Despite all these potential benefits, this situation is quite demonstrative of the relationship between Mali and foreign industries specifically to the U.S. and China. Ideally, a project like this which does have clear benefits for the Malian economy and infrastructure would also contribute to the Malian economy by contracting Malians for the construction process rather than outsourcing for a Chinese construction company. Too often, countries like the U.S. step in to provide aid and assistance to Mali but only provide temporary solutions that are not sustainable because the skills and assets of the Malian professional and industrial community have never been called upon. Instead, the U.S.'s relationship with Mali is affected by contracting a separate foreign industry such as China to interact with the local economy of Bamako rather than directly stimulating Mali's economy by tapping into the resources potentially available there. While this may not always be the most cost-effective approach to projects like this, the long-term benefits to providing a more sustainable industry could mean less of a need to step in financially in the future.

Singing For or Singing About?

The agency of musicians and artists in today's industry of charitable giving has really got me thinking about the distinctions between simply doing what you do FOR a cause and shaping what you do to be ABOUT a cause. Why does music as an art form have to be separated from provoking activism? In what ways do performances like Hope for Haiti and the Rainforest Fund's 21st Birthday Concert further the conversation on international dialogue? Not to say these Art FOR something isn't a bad thing, but its interesting for an artist to sing about certain ideas and themes as demanded by the pop culture industry by day and then perform songs to raise money/awareness for causes by night- why is the music industry often separated from social action in this way? In such socio-musical movements as the blues of the deep American south, the Tropicalia of Brazil, the Rastafari of Jamaica, and even Hip Hop of urban America, we see clear patterns in social stance supported by Music. Which musicians/artists throughout history can we learn from in order to more often sing about something rather than just sing for something for a fuller embrace of causes/activism? 

Watch Video Here!

Counting Down the Weeks

"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. " 

— Paulo Freire

Even though I dont hop on my plane to Mali for a month and a half, reading my peers' entries about their work has been really exciting! I've been reading, mixing, jamming, writing, drawing, and conversing to prepare for my trip in August and I've come across some really awesome artists with the interest in using music and performance art to provoke dialogue and deliberation.

Check out these artists!

Vinson Valega
Herbie Hancock
Shelly Wyant
Caitlin Cobb

The Beginning

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.”

-Victor Hugo

I truly believe that music brings people to together. Not only this, but I am confident that music and art are invaluable tools in achieving critical dialogue, reflection, and communication in our global pursuit of a fuller humanity. During my time at Brown, I have grown very passionate about education as the practice of freedom as well as the power of performance to engage in critical pedagogy globally. This summer, I will be traveling to Bamako, Mali to the village of Djoumanzana to work with youth at the Djoumanzana Children’s Center, a struggling institution with one classroom managed by two of the most selfless, passionate, and generous educators I’ve been privileged to meet. The Children’s Center is an informal organization sponsored by various NGO’s in Mali. While the resources for the center are beyond minimal, the children of the village utilize the center as a safe place to learn and play, immersed in the performative culture which dances through the streets throughout every moment of every day. Through this tremendous opportunity for community engagement among the youth at the community center and in the streets, I hope to facilitate “problem-posing” and “socially liberating” activities and projects in the performing arts to create works of art and participate in transnational collaboration.