September 17, 2020 Kulu Mele Releases New Video "We're Coming Out" on Vimeo

 

(Image Courtesy of the Kulu Mele) Kulu Mele is Still Here: Dorothy Wilkie, Kulu Mele Artistic Director says, “Kulu Mele is still here. Still carrying the torch for culture. We are artists in quarantine and we are coming out of this together.” The pandemic of COVID-19 and growing public acknowledgement of the pandemic of systemic racism inspires Kulu Mele’s new video, “We’re Coming Out ” an invitation to rethink and remember. This suite of six site-specific pieces samples Kulu Mele’s repertoire and history, a collective self-portrait at a transformative moment, a portal. Survival strategies, beautifully documented by Aidan Un in 10:46. From Kulu Mele’s repertoire, Wilkie chose dances for this moment, calling on Guinean, Afro-Cuban and Malian tradition. Elegba opens the way. Dansa and Tansole bring high-energy Malian celebration and djembe rhythms forward. Palo salutes the ancestors. Doundounba is a dance of strength. Yemaya invokes the ocean waters, mother of the universe. Together, they represent work that Kulu Mele will present, post-COVID. Now they are a gift to all of us: something to look forward to. Wilkie says, “I’m letting the community know that Kulu Mele is still here, through all that has happened this year. Through all the rough roads that the world has been in. These are some of the things we have been working on and we want to present to you. And we are going to find a way to bring Kulu Mele back to the new world. We’ve been here 50+ years and we plan to continue creating new work, and keeping the culture going.”