Kresge Oval (outside Kresge Auditorium)
Join Lamine Touré, Rambax MIT, and guest artists for an informal outdoor showcase of Senegalese sabar rhythms and dance! Sabar is a vibrant drum and dance tradition of the Wolof people of Senegal, West Africa. In Senegal, sabars are played exclusively by griots, a caste of hereditary musicians. Sabar drum troupes perform at a variety of events, from neighborhood dance parties to baptisms, weddings, wrestling matches, and political meetings. The sabar ensemble consists of numerous parts that come together to create complex polyrhythms. Accompaniment parts create the fabric upon which the lead drummer solos and the rest of the ensemble plays rhythms and bàkks (musical phrases, many of which were composed by Lamine Touré or passed down from older generations in his family). Some bàkks are derived from a tradition of rhythmically declaimed spoken word, called taasu. Saturday’s performance features guest artists Malick Ngom, Babacar Seck, and Cheikh Ngom. Rambax will perform a medley of sabar rhythms and bàkks including Kaolack, Njouck, Jël, Ardin, Raas, Lëmbël, Baar Mbaye, and Dagañ.
Rain Location: Lobdell
ABOUT RAMBAX MIT
Lamine Touré, Director
Patty Tang, Faculty Advisor
Directed by master Senegalese drummer Lamine Touré, Rambax MIT is an ensemble dedicated to learning the art of sabar, a vibrant drum and dance tradition of the Wolof people of Senegal, West Africa. Rambax is open to MIT students, faculty, staff and alumni. New members are accepted in the fall and spring semesters. Students must pre-register for 21M.460 and attend auditions. For further information, contact: Patty Tang (Faculty Advisor to Rambax) at pjtang@mit.edu.
Beginner Rambax is: Eileen Chau, Chirag Falor, Vishruti Ganesh, Perapat Gatenil, Delaney Goetz, Veronica Grant, Cerine Hamida, Sabrina Hare, Michelle He, Hee Jae Hong, Salma Islam, Mark Jabbour, Shelby Laitipaya, Kelly Lam, Robert Law, Michelle Li, Julie Meng, Sabrina Queipo, Niko Ramirez, Alessandre Santos, Simge Topaloglu, Binette Wadda, Angela Zhang, Jenny Zhao.
Advanced Rambax is: Shalom Abate, Sarah, Acolatse, Anna Aldins, Monique Brewster, Selam Bulti, Chubz Eduzor, Autumn Geil, Elissa Gibson, Nima Hyolmo, Chris Knapp, Mia LaRocca, Nishat Fahmida Protyasha, Anna Stevens, Nan Tian, Lesley Wang, Wen Ting Zheng.
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