Listings in Music & Dance
Abdoul Doumbia – Drummer
Abdoul Doumbia was born in Bamako, Mali in 1965 and was raised in the village of Foutaka Zambougou near the ancient Bamana city of Segou. At the age of five Abdoul began to learn the music of his culture. He went on to complete a 16 year apprenticeship with master drummer Moriba Keita in Bamako. Abdoul worked with many professional drum and dance companies in Mali, including nine years as lead drummer for the renowned traditional drum and dance troupe Babemba, and was chosen to represent his region for eight consecutive years in the National Drum Festival of Mali. Abdoul immigrated to the United States in 1991 to accept a position at Brown University. He taught regularly on the east coast, including classes at Yale, Harvard, Princeton, RISDI, the University of Florida, and the University of Connecticut before moving to Boulder, Colorado in 1998 where he currently lives and teaches. In Colorado Abdoul has taught classes at CU, Naropa and The Colorado College. Abdoul is known for his mastery of Malian djembe and dunun and is a respected source of information regarding Mali's rich culture and history.
African Roots – KGNU
KGNU is the independent, noncommercial, community radio station for Boulder, Denver and beyond.
We are a mission-driven, nonprofit media outlet. We are not beholden to corporations or the government. We do not broadcast advertisements, and we do not accept underwriting from major corporations. Our bottom line is to provide real journalism and diverse music, not to maximize profits. The majority of our operating budget comes from you, the listener. We are community-powered. Volunteers produce, host, report, DJ, administer and govern the station. We broadcast 18-20 hours of locally produced programming per day. We provide hands-on training for volunteers.
BaoBao
BaoBao Foundation strives to strengthen communities in West Africa and Colorado, create awareness of the richness of West African arts and culture and empower communities in Ghana through endeavors such as the BaoBao Library Project.
Bonnie Carol
With a natural energetic ease, Bonnie Carol sings and plays hammered and fretted dulcimers as well as African marimba, bodhrán, folk drums and hand percussion. A performance is likely to encompass traditional music from North and South America, the British Isles, Caribbean rhythms, and even Tex-Mex tunes, all fitting together in that exuberant whole we call World Music.
In addition to her solo concerts, Bonnie can be found playing in a Celtic ensemble, and a contra and square dance band. More about each of these options below.
Bonnie's music has filled concert halls form New York to Nicaragua for four decades. She is an international ambassador for peace in the most artistic sense, a visionary from the high country of Colorado. She has an arresting natural charm, extraordinary talent and energy, acres of instruments and mountains of talent.
Bonnie possesses professional credentials that are some of the most complete in the industry. She has produced, recorded, and distributed half a dozen recordings of her music, on which she plays the majority of the instruments. She has played on dozens of others musicians' CDs as a studio musician. She put her knowledge of traditional music, dulcimers, and African marimbas into the dozen books she has authored. Most of the dulcimer contests across the nation have seen Bonnie win or place.
Cleo Parker Robinson Dance
Cleo Parker Robinson Dance (CPRD) is a cultural ambassador, infusing vitality, innovation and education into every community we touch—around the corner and around the globe.
CPRD became a 501(c)(3) Not-for-Profit organization in 1974, continuing to build upon its dance school and ensemble origins. In four decades, we have developed into an internationally esteemed organization that operates beyond the traditional performing arts model.
There are four pillars of the organization, namely, the CPRD Ensemble, Academy, Theatre, and Education programs. Working in concert, CPRD programs have created an oasis where a varied population—by gender, race, age and ethnicity—gather to study and appreciate a modern, cross-cultural approach to creative community development. Housed in the historic A.M.E. Shorter Church in Five Points, CPRD serves as a convener of community, art and dance.
Community Drums
Here at COMMUNITY DRUMS we believe that DRUMMING is a vital daily event, just like eating, sleeping, walking and talking; and we have lots of fun, accessible ways for anyone & everyone to be included.
For the TEACHING of the MEDITATION/CELEBRATION rhythms & technique we use the ever popular West African DJEMBE Drum - however - some of the technique & all of the rhythms are transferrable to any drum - be it Dumbek, Conga, Hoop Drum, even Percussion!
Dairy Center for the Arts
Dairy Arts Center was founded in 1992 to provide cooperative workspaces for local artists and venues for live performance in Boulder County. Originally owned by the Watts-Hardy Dairy, the building’s transformation from a former milk-processing facility to a thriving multi-disciplinary arts hub for Boulder and beyond is a nationally recognized example of constructive urban development and renewal. The Dairy’s founders envisioned a community arts center where artists of all genres would create and inspire each other and the greater community.
Donna Mejia
Donna Mejia (Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Dance, CU Boulder Theatre and Dance Department) is a choreographer, scholar, instructor, and performer specializing in contemporary dance, traditions of the African and Arab Diaspora, and emerging fusion traditions in Transnational Electronica. This genre provides a rich arena for the study of cultural imperialism, gender representation and electronic/digital globalization. Donna is also an authorized instructor of the Brazilian Silvestre Modern Dance Technique and is a lauded representative of this esoteric study of dance after 30 years of practice.
e Town Hall
eTown Hall is a multi-purpose building in the heart of downtown Boulder that is not only home to eTown’s offices, but is also a world-class live music venue, full service recording studio and a real community center. Since 1991, eTown has been committed to environmental education and “doing the right thing.” This building, converted from an old church facility, is quite possibly the greenest music and media center in Colorado!
eTown Hall is unique – not another venue in the country like it. It’s recycled (a former church), rebuilt (a total renovation from the ground up), renovated (state of the art sound systems, recording studio) repurposed (a green building that makes its own solar power, has extremely efficient heating and cooling, used recycled and repurposed materials in the renovation) and reinvigorated.
eTown Hall is a home for the values and ideas that have helped make eTown thrive since 1991. It’s a place for music, certainly, but also so much more.
Echo D’Afrique
Écho D’Afrique is a dance and music showcase that highlights African influences on today’s popular culture. Écho D’Afrique is a celebration – Denver’s very own Afro festival. The goal is to forge a bridge connecting the African diaspora to its roots while providing a platform for people of all origins and walks of life to come together and experience the African vibe.