Fanga, Alafia! Súle & Company

I reached out to Da Elders about Fanga, the Dance of Welcome.

Turns out this popular Dance/Song is a beautiful collaboration of African, Caribbean, and U.S. culture. Amazing dancer/scholar Pearl Primus (Trinidadian-American) got a grant to study in Liberia. She came back & choreographed Fanga, the Dance of Welcome. LaRoque Bey loved it, and added it to his company's repertoire. Then, with the melody of a maa'fa AfrAm folk song, Lil Liza Jane, he took the dance's title, added a couple of Yoruba words to it, and created the Fanga song. That whole piece then became part of Babatunde Olatunji's performances, and Boy, how it spread!
In honor of ALL those ancestors--and those to come, here's a bit of Fanga for ya! Get down!

Thanks so much to Shana Mejia on calabash, Awa Glasper on frikywa, Robyn Martinez & Jumoke Farrow on ashiko, & yours truly on Jubilee banza, usonium & ashiko. Enjoy! Oh--I'll be teaching the rhythm as part of Christine Stevens' Global Rhythm Sangha next year. Bless!

PS: Be on the lookout for my new book, Rhythm 'n' Spirit: African Wisdom for Universal Connection!!! It's with the graphic designer now. The videos lessons are done. The audio's in the can. We're putting it all together, and Here We GO!