Union College Presents Kengmo
Free performance by renowned African dancer, story teller and musician

Union College will host a free, one-time only public performance by African dancer, story-teller and musician Kengmo on Thursday, March 21 at 8:15 p.m. in the Conway Boatman Chapel. A native of Cameroon in central Africa, now residing in the U.S., the multi-talented Kengmo has energized audiences across the country, including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

"This lithe, radiant fellow . . . thoroughly charmed a substantial audience. By the end of the program he had people shimmying, kicking and clapping like friends," said a review in The Washington Post. Kengmo has also held numerous dance and music workshops and classes for teachers and students of all ages, making his unique audience participation show especially appealing to the entire family.

Kengmo brings alive his heritage with a show that vividly demonstrates the thorough integration of dance and music into everyday life on an African farm, from clearing and plowing the earth to harvesting the crops. The audience learns about the lifestyles of the African peoples and how it relates to our lives here. One of his most important goals, says Kengmo, is to build or strengthen bridges between cultures and people so that audiences can gain a wider vision of a beautiful and highly diverse world. "I do my best to serve as an open window, " explains the artist, "through which community members can see Central Africa and the African continent from a different perspective-highly enriching, yet almost never shown or talked about by the media."

Kengmo's performance is one of a series of events sponsored several times a year by the Union College Cultural Events Committee.

February 7, 2002

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