FEATURES

 

Photos Kat Code

Continued from page 17

Many of the instructors have been
Artist in Resident at local schools.
Masabo offers the residencies at a
reduced rate in hopes that students will
get enough of a taste of the courses to
want to sign up for the programs at the
studio.

Every year, the instructors and stu-
dents have performed for various com-
munity festivals—Arts in the Park,
Multicultural Days Festival at the
Westminster Quay, International Family
Day, and the list goes on. Twice a year,
Masabo hosts a student concert and has
drawn audiences large enough to fill the
Douglas College Performing Arts
Theatre. They provide top-notch enter-
tainment and the students and instruc-
tors rise to the challenge to put on a fan-
tastic show.

One of the main commitments at
Masabo is to provide traditional afro-
centric artists with a venue to share their

art. Its commitment to the community is
to provide a professional, safe, and fun
environment in which to have a unique
physical, cultural, and artistic experience.
The instructors act as ambassadors for
their art and culture, and for many of
them, it has been a life-long commit-
ment to their traditions through the arts.

Although many of the instructors
have not received any formal training,
they are hereditary masters where their
art and position has been handed down
to them through complex cultural regu-
lations.

Masabo’s experience as a perform-
ance company has been witness to the
philosophy that if you are African, you
were born dancing and drumming and,
therefore, you should be performing out

of the shear joy of doing so and not for
professional remuneration. Lisa Soro,
manager of Masabo, speaks to the talent
of the instructors, “We are putting the

stereotypes to rest; our instructors’
rock!”

Masabo offers many traditional per-
formance arts, mostly with the afro-cen-
tric flavour. Courses range from tradi-
tional West African Drumming and
Dance, to Egyptian Bellydance,
Caribbean Steel Drums, Brazilian
Capoeira, all the way to Sri Lanka for
Kanyan dancing. For kids and youth,
Masabo offers various percussion class-
es, Hip Hop, and Break Dance.

Masabo has been approved for non-
profit status. This change allows Masabo
to apply for operational grants that aren’t
available to for-profit organizations.
There is a plethora of grants that will
(hopefully) enable Masabo to sustain all
the studio’s activities. This change also
enables the organization to widen their
mandate, hire more instructors, offer
more courses, and gain more insight
from a Board of Directors, and perhaps

a sponsoring body that will share the
work load so that the studio can become
more efficient and professional.

The fall concert (location to be
announced) will be taking place on
December 3, 2005. Most of the ten-
week programs gear the students to take
what they have learned to the stage—
and students of all ages and perform-
ance levels love to get on stage. It’s not
mandatory to perform, but it’s encour-
aged.

Masabo offers a student-saver card at
$90 for ten classes or $50 for five classes
with valid student identification. This
card is a drop-in card, so it is transfer-
able to any class offered and has no
expiration date. Classes have already
begun, but new registrations are still wel-
come and accepted.