Wow! Its been a looong time since I updated this but here goes...
the next Pangea is coming this month and we are so pumped. The artists have been rehearsing for a month and a half now and we have a complete fusion going on with groups comprised of Tuareg Nigerien singers, French accordian players, Zarma Nigerien guitar players, Malian drummers, American singers and guitar players, Fulani drummers, Guinean dancers, Rappers of Niger, a traditional flute player of Niger, an American drummer. We are fusing traditional with Jazz, blues, folk, rap and reggae----More to come!
Nov 7 is the final concert at the MJC Djadi Seykou in Niamey, Niger.
Festival is one week of classes from Nov 2--Nov 6 at CFPM 8am-12 for voice, guitar, dance and percussion. Join us if you are on the continent.
Pangea in the young women's songwriting class
I created this class to invite girls from local schools to begin to write songs. They wrote about AIDS, the difficulties of staying in school, strong women who they admired, and love. Their songs will be performed in August in NYC as a fundraiser for girls' education in Niger through Manhattan Theatre Source.
Bargaining at the market
Nothing is a fixed price-- its fun!
About Me
- Ginger
- I am currently serving in the Peace Corps in West Africa. This journal is about my experiences here.
beautiful hair!
The Pangea Organizers
Michelle has the interesting makeup on (like Bjork but also like a local tribe here), and sheena is the other beautiful lady. For Pangea, the week of music and dance exchange, Sheena taught yoga classes everyday to people who have never heard of it, and Michelle taught an American dance class everyday--that doesn't even speak to the buckets of support I got from both all week---I love these ladies!
Grain Bank
These men are making a storage house for millet so when the hunger season comes, they have some stored away so they won't have to pay the inflated prices for millet before the next harvest comes.
Sharing
Two more lovely ladies at the festival
Radio Marharba
This photo captures how important radio and music is here. Not many people play the traditional instruments, and most don't have TVs, but many have radios. I just started singing regurlarly on the radio which is convieniently located next to my house. My friend, Sarah took this shot.
Poop on a stick
So, this is a ball of poop on a stick and you can hardly see it but there is a beautiful beetle attached by his leg to the poop and as cruel as it is it is hilarious and they love this game! The people that is. The blur in the pic is the beetle trying to fly away so fast that it spins around in a circle for a really long time. They eventually let him go and he flew away.
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