Stilt ballet part of African

College sophomore Wayne Deflaminis answered the call of the drums. Sitting in his room in the Quadrangle's Bodine dormitory Wednesday night, Deflaminis noticed the sounds of rhythmic percussion coming from below the building. "I heard the noise and all," he later explained. He decided to investigate, and discovered the sounds were emanating from the Quad's McClelland Hall. He was probably surprised by what he what he discovered next: seven young girls performing an unusual ballet in shimmering red, green, gold and checkered costumes, spinning and leaping from leg to leg in time with a drum, in seeming defiance of gravity. And they were on stilts. The entrancing African-American Stilt Ballet was part of an "African Thanksgiving Extravaganza," a diversity education program sponsored by the Quad's Community House dormitories. About 30 people attended the three speakers scheduled before the dancing, and many more were attracted by the sight of the dancers and the sounds of the drums later on. Dancer Aisha Imani, who spoke and performed during the program, explained in her speech that drums have traditionally served that purpose in African cultures. "Everybody comes, everybody dances together," Amani said. "Drums call people to dance, to worship." During the "Thanksgiving Extravaganza," organizer Tanya Fowler, a folklore and folklife graduate student, explained that thanksgiving takes place often in African culture on holidays and religious ceremonies. Wednesday's program marked the harvest season. Those in attendance ate and drank from an "African feast" of traditional African foods, decorated with pumpkins, squash, apples, bananas and other vegetables representing the harvest. But the evening's real harvest was an intellectual one, and speakers frequently gave thanksgiving for having the opportunity to share their knowledge, and to those who continue to study African cultures around the world. Speakers emphasized the many distinct forms of African culture and religion that developed as African societies were forcibly relocated around the world. The speakers called attention to how dissimilar cultures are now often misunderstood and stereotyped. While the "reconstituted cultures" share a common foundation, the speakers said, they cannot and should not be lumped together with modern African culture or with each other. "[There are] billions of different peoples speaking millions of different languages, celebrating thousands of specific cultures, dates and times, in hundreds of different ways that are so different it blows my mind," Amani said. Many participants agreed that the dancing was the most dynamic part of the evening. Audience members were given the opportunity to try some of the dance steps at the end. Although apprehensive at first, nervousness quickly gave way to enthusiasm. "That wasn't so bad," Cheryl Groce, assistant dean of Community House, acknowledged afterwards. "It was fun."

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