Friday, February 20, 2009
By Harold Gwin
Eagle Heights pupils learn Harambee moves, mantra
Serena Reed and Neighai Lively jumped at the opportunity to dance with the Harambee Youth Organization when they learned the troupe would be conducting a workshop at their school, Eagle Heights Academy in Youngstown.
“I like to dance, so I decided to try it out,” said Serena, an eighth-grader.
“I saw them perform last year,” added Neighai, adding that watching the group perform onstage drew her interest and she was anxious to get a chance to dance with them during a workshop Thursday.
“I loved it,” Serena said at the end of the session.
“It’s pretty easy,” Neighai said.
Harambee was to perform at the school this morning, and those pupils in grades five through eight who participated in the workshop were invited to perform onstage.
Both Serena and Neighai said they intended to participate.
A couple of seventh-graders awaiting their opportunity on the dance floor weren’t so sure.
“Maybe,” said Angelique Phillips and Solimar Barbosa in unison when asked if they planned to be onstage today. The indication was they wanted to see how the practice session went before making any commitment.
Pupils were selected for participation based on their behavior and academics.
Those attending the workshop were taught a dance of “medium” difficulty, said Lynnette Kimako Miller, one of the founders and coordinators of Harambee Youth Organization and a guidance counselor at P. Ross Berry Middle School in Youngstown.
It’s a dance that could be learned in an hourlong session, she said.
Harambee started as a grass-roots organization around 1980 to teach young black men and women about African history, culture and heritage, Miller said. The group has 125 members between the ages of 8 and 18 now and performs authentic African dances.
Membership is free, and the group’s performances raise the funds needed to buy the costumes and other materials, she said.
Harambee means “Let’s all pull together,” Miller said, explaining that the group functions under the theory “Each one teach one.” All of its instructors were once Harambee dancers, she said.
It’s more of a youth group than a dance group, although the participants practice once a week, she said. The primary focus is on teaching and elevating the lives of those involved, she said, adding, “Dance is just a tool we use to bring them to the door.”
Not all of those attending the workshop at Eagle Heights were interested in dancing.
“I’m not dancing. I’m a drummer,” said seventh-grader Kyle Graham as he awaited his turn at a Harambee drum.
“I’m a drummer too,” said Demik Fields, another seventh-grader, who added that he doesn’t dance.
The visit to Eagle Heights is part of the school’s Black History Month programming, said Vanessa Williams, administrator, transportation coordinator and parent liaison for the school.
Harambee has performed at the school before, but this is the first time the group conducted a workshop and involved Eagle Heights pupils, Williams said.
It gives the children a chance to know what they’re observing, she said, explaining that everything in the performance has a meaning, and learning about that up front provides them with the opportunity to really know what it is all about.
Some of the children will perform with the group but others will shy away from the public presentation, Williams said.
“They’re doing really well,” said Shavonne Seabrook of Poland, a Harambee instructor who was leading the workshop.
She predicted the participants would show up for today’s performance.
gwin@vindy.com