Sommet/Mandingue/Summit 5: West African Dance & Drum Festival (Mandingue Summit) is the fifth edition of our multidisciplinary three-day festival of traditional West African culture featuring workshops and performances led by local and internationally renowned master dancers and drummers, as well as film screenings and an African marketplace.
 

The festival showcases artists from various countries in West Africa who represent the Mandingue/Mandé people of the Ancient Empire of Mali (in the thirteenth century, this vast territory was as large as Canada and encompassed the countries known today as Mali, Guinée, Senegal, The Gambia, Côte D’Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger). Despite the incredible land mass, political boundaries and differences in language and religion that now separate these countries, what they all hold in common is the powerful instrument, the djembe (drum), and the literally hundreds of dances, from as many
different ethnic groups, that accompany its rhythms.

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This year’s schedule features:

• a documentary screening and fireside chat

• a performance program followed by a reception and music sets

• two cultural workshops to provide a greater understanding and appreciation of Mandingue/Malinké culture

• two days of dance and drum workshops led by acclaimed artists that are geared towards adults and children of varying skill levels. Beginners are welcome!
   

Register for workshops and events here