Troupe telling tales with West African dance
BRENTWOOD: Group uses chanting, drums, dancing to relay stories from centuries ago
By Tanya Rose
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

BRENTWOOD - Inside a city-owned building in Hercules, five African drums beat out booming commands, and seven dancers in green and orange respond, their outstretched arms swaying toward the ceiling.

It's a conversation between bodies and music, with the dancers hopping birdlike, or smooth like water, while everything blends into one pulsing mass of energy.

Their movements tell the story of migration, or the story of an African bride and groom, or perhaps it's a ritual meant to send away evil spirits. The performances are, in essence, meant to mimic ancient dancers and musicians, as a sort of storybook telling 100-year-old tales.