ROUNDUP Los Angeles Pierce College
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Woodland Hills, California
Volume 129 - Issue 5
A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
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The international language of dance
Thursday concert with Afrikasa takes the audience on a journey
Chief Swale from the group Afrikasa, dances with students at the Thursday Concert on the Performing Arts Building Mainstage on Oct. 4., 2018, in Woodland Hills, Calif.
NICK MARTINEZ Reporter @NickEsai
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s the audience found their seats, all that lay before them were instruments and chairs, with no musicians too be seen. Seemingly from nowhere, a drum started beating, and then another, and almost immediately as if by natural instinct the crowd began clapping to the rhythm. From behind the curtain entered Afrikasa, one member at a time, each beating a lung drum. The band consisted of 4 members, one bassist, one guitarist, and two drummers. After their intro song, one of the band members yelled out “Greetings everyone when someone says Akwaaba, it means welcome, so when I say Akwaaba, you say it back,” said Marwan Morgrabi, to which the audience shouted back at him. It was from there that they transitioned into their first song, Dagomba, a piece about the common troubles of everyday life. None of the drummers missed a
beat. Transitioning into their next song Mother Africa, Marwan Morgrabi, one of the band members, once again reached out to the crowd, asking them who wanted to go to the jungles of Africa with them, to which the crowd cheered. The song was instrumental, but not lyricless, as with their drums they communicated a story, as to what can only be described by the band as “Drum Poetry.” The song had a slow tempo throughout, but then the song began to speed up, to which impressive feats of percussion were displayed, leading to a dramatic finish. After the song fellow member and Chief Swale began explaining their two main drums, the lung and gungon nu drum. Both originate from Northern Ghana and are used as a form of communication in that country. “The Lung Drum is the one who speaks, while the gungon nu drum is the one who answers, Marwan Morgrabi said. After which the group began to call up volunteers to dance during their next
song, Kente Dress dance. A total of 10 participants walked on stage, with Marwan Morgrabi, noting how this is the first time they have ever had more males than females come up to dance. The song consisted of a solid percussion piece, now accompanied with a suiting dance routine. When the song ended, the participating dancers returned to their seats, and the band began prepping for their final song, Afrikasa. This is also the bands nam, which translates to Africa speaks, Africa dances and Africa heals. After beginning to play, the band begins throwing instruments to audience members, encouraging them to come and play until the song came to an end. “If you all are wondering, these instruments are all from home depot,”Kweku Anash said jokingly as the performance wrapped up. The next concert will be held Thursday, Oct. 11, featuring jazz vocalist Karolina and Tom Rainer on jazz piano at the PAB Mainstage at 1 p.m. nmartinez.roundupnews@gmail.com
Unique Manns / Roundup
Emmanuel Amissah Allase Amis from the group Afrikasa, performs in the Thursday Concert on the Performing Arts Building Mainstage on Oct. 4., 2018, in Woodland Hills, Calif.
Unique Manns / Roundup
Marwan Morgrabi and Chief Swale from the group Afrikasa, performs in the Thursday Concert on the Performing Arts Building Mainstage on Oct. 4., 2018, in Woodland Hills, Calif.
Preview:
Day of Politics returns to campus October 17 DEVIN MALONE Reporter @roundupnews
For many, being educated on the current political situation can be hard without the proper guidance or exposure. The upcoming Day of Politics event might be of interest. First held back in 2011, Pierce College’s Day of Politics is an event held in the Great Hall on Oct. 17 where students can learn more about current political ongoings, usually within the state. A major focus this year will be placed on Proposition 10 and Proposition 6, which deal with rent control and the possible repeal of the new gas tax respectively.
To Kaycea Campbell, the Department Chair of Political Science & Economics & Criminal Justice, the event acts as a way to spread more information about a wide range of political issues. “It’s pretty much to expose students to a lot of different issues related to legislation, a lot of issues related to the political system, representatives and all of that stuff,” Campbell said. “So it is more of an information dissemination process.” Denise Robb, an instructor of political sciences and one of the organizers of the event, hopes to provide students with a chance to meet with Californian political figures and get a better understanding of policies. “We can’t cover them all because there’s so many of them and we can’t cover all the candidates but we do
have one of the candidates for the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of California.,” Robb Said. “We have both candidates running for State Assembly, including our own assemblyman, Jesse Gabriel, who is representing the district and running for reelection.” Genesis Descua, one of the club presidents of Pierce Democrats, believes that because the upcoming election in November, there’s also been an extra emphasis on getting students to register to vote by clubs and staff. Not only has the November election brought a shift in the focus for the Day of Politics, but it has also helped garner more attention for the event than it would have gotten beforehand, which may result in a larger turnout. “Every year it takes a different theme,
Unique Manns / Roundup
and this particular year it’s fallen right in that period where we have a major election coming up,” Campbell said. “So there’s a lot of activity, there’s a lot of buzz, there’s a lot of supplemental stuff that’s happening. So I think that all of that is acting as a promotion for the event, I think that it will probably be one of the bigger ones in terms of drawing in the crowds this year,” Descua said. For those attending the event, political discussion isn’t the only thing to look forward to, as the University of California, Los Angeles, who often coproduce this event, will be providing pizza.
dmalone.roundupnews@gmail.com
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