Sankofa begins and continues

The place we are now is different than where we began. I had started Makofi in Grenada after playing for a while with Veni Vrai la Grenade, a traditional dance company. I started Makofi based on the rhythms I played while in Veni Vrai. I was bored playing the same traditional rhythms so with Makofi we developed new rhythms and routines. We were still a ‘native drum ensemble’. In the spring of 2003 I assembled a group of internationals for Rangeela to do a drum performance. In the Fall of 2003 I chartered Sankofa as a Calvin organization and held auditions for the performance group.
Sankofa was started on the momentum of the 2003 Rangeela performance in addition to my experience with Makofi. Naturally the elements that I had brought into Sankofa were a continuation of the elements I had used before. As Sankofa matured, there was an amoebic reaction to its original momentum – pulling away to form a new and developed idea. While Sankofa forged an identity as a drum group, the eclectic mix of experience within the group and the natural evolution of ideas have prompted Sankofa to a new calling.
Sankofa was a challenge for the 3 years that I directed it. Besides the creative aspect of what the group presents the bigger challenge was logistical. I had a hard time getting people to come to practice consistently and then active engagement while in practice was difficult to provoke. I realized only after I was actively involved the problem was that the people in Sankofa were subject to my vision but my vision was not accessible to them and they didn’t ‘own’ my vision. The 2007 Rangeela performance represented a new capacity for Sankofa to own the music they play distinct from but not independent from its earlier days as a drum group playing traditional rhythms.

On a more personal note Sankofa was a responsibility. As a leader, I had to interact with people who wanted Sankofa to play and people within Sankofa and try to find a creative balance between our audience and ourselves. I wasn’t always able to bring the most creative or dynamic material to the table. I feel responsible for the time that Sankofa has spent in a rut of ‘drum circling’. Sometimes I would have an idea but then come back to the realization that the people are Sankofa are students first – not performers first. I want to help from a distance to get Sankofa out of a ‘drum circle’ classification and even away from an ‘African’ classification. I think the stereotypes are limiting and in a way, creatively demeaning.

From where we have come and where we are going, Sankofa is a unique cultural experience. We have flown under the banner of multiculturalism since the start; yet Sankofa has been boxed into a cultural category. Perhaps Sankofa should strive to exhibit a more true multiculturalism.