Town Hall Theater Presents A WEST AFRICAN VILLAGE HOLIDAY 12/17

While we enjoy the traditions of our holiday season, it's good to be reminded that other cultures are celebrating as well, in unique and sometimes thrilling ways. The drumming and pageantry of Guinea and Senegal will come to life on the Town Hall Theater stage on December 17, as Africa Djolie presents A West African Village Holiday.

This celebration of drumming, story-telling and energetic dance is directed by Soriba Simbo Camara, a master dancer who now resides in Bristol, Vermont. Prior to moving to Vermont, Simbo was a principal dancer with the internationally acclaimed Les Ballets Africains de Guinee, the leading ambassadors of African dance. He has also directed and choreographed for Ballet Sourakhata de Guinee, with over 50 dancers and drummers. Through his work with Sourakhata, Simbo has trained many of the brightest young stars in Guinean dance today.

The name of Simbo's current group, Africa Djolie, is based on djolie, the word for a female mask. But it's also a play on the French word jolie, or beautiful. The pageantry of the drumming and dancing is indeed beautiful to behold. The musicians and dancers of Africa Djolie hail from Guinea, Senegal, and the United States.

A West African Village Holiday will take place at Middlebury's Town Hall Theater on Thursday, December 17, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $12, and may be purchased at 382-9222, www.townhalltheater.org, or at the Town Hall Theater box office (Mon-Sat noon - 5pm).