The Global Scholars Program at the University of Michigan presents Adam Falkner. Spoken word artist and University of Michigan alumnus, Adam Falkner is a poet, performer, public high school teacher, and educational consultant. The events will carry out through the weekend and will provide the chance to hear him speak, as well as one-on-one meet and greets. The event line up is as follows:

Thursday, April 12th, 2012, 7:00pm – 9:00pm  — Welcome Reception
North Quad, 105 South State St. – Space 2435
Deserts Provided

Social Identities and Creative Writing – Friday, April 13th, 2012, 11:00am – 1:00pm & 2:00pm – 4:00pm
North Quad 2275
A 2 session workshop series
No preparation required; register at www.lsa.umich.edu/globalscholars

Drop in One-on-One Times
Friday, April 13th, 2012, 7-9 (Media Gateway in North Quad)
Saturday, April 14th, 2012, 4-6 (Media Gateway in North Quad) 

Loving Life After Graduation: Dialogue about how to do what you love after graduation and how to still pay the rent.  – April 14th, 2012, 1:00pm – 4:00pm

Want to Tell Your Story? Story Slam featuring Adam Falkner
Saturday, April 14th, 2012, in 2435 NQ
Open Mic: 7pm
Story Slam: 8pm

Saturday March 31st at 7:30 p.m. in Palmer Commons, dancers and musicians gathered to perform at the University, having traveled from the far reaches of the globe. The night opened with Rony Barrak, a percussionist from Lebanon. He was incredibly talented, and collaborated with University of Michigan music students near the end of the his set. What an incredible opportunity for our students to work with such a world-renown musician!

After a 15 minute break to clear the stage, the Fontomfrom Drum & Dance Ensemble from Ghana performed. They are masters of African drum and dance, having been members of the National Dance Company in Kumasi. They opened with a prayer to bless the drums and to thank the trees for their sacrifice in order for the drums to have been created. One man sang the words of the prayer, and the drum would respond after each line. It was really beautiful.

Other dances included a social dance, in which men and women partnered up, a harvest dance which expressed gratitude for the harvest, a dance performed for the in-laws at a wedding, and even a dance performed when a person is being taken away for execution! Each dance was so expressive, with the tiniest gestures and  movements packed with so much meaning. The dancers interacted with the crowd, making faces, smiling, and gesturing toward the audience. There was such a strong connection between dancer and audience, something that is often lost in modern American dance, where there is often an invisible wall between performer and audience. The dancers also connected with each other, and with the drummers as they danced, smiling at one another, and echoing the shouts and songs of the drummers.

I am incredibly jealous that dance is so integrated into their culture and everyday life in Africa. There are dances for every occasion, and specific dances and dress for different regions of Africa as well. It seems as if everyone would dance in that environment, unlike here, where the only opportunities to dance are at a nightclub, or at a dance studio where formal dance classes are taught. I love how dance is such a part of their lives, for so many occasions, for their whole lives.

It was interesting to see nuances of modern-day hip-hop dance in African dance movement. There was a lot of flow and hit in their movements, intricate hand-movements, and hip movements somewhat reminiscent of krumping, but the attitude was so different than hip-hop. Hip-hop dance is often pretty serious, and it comes from a very intense, even angry, place. There are times when hip-hop is more playful, but it seems that it is often in a teasing, making fun of something, sort of way. But African dance is most often very light-hearted and innocent. The dancers smile all the time, at each other and at the audience, something you would rarely see a hip-hop dancer do. Their movements are equally intense–their bodies hold so much tension as they move!–but they are able to maintain a calm and friendly demeanor. I wonder if slavery caused African-American dance to become more angry, and less light-hearted, or if rap music, more serious and impassioned as a result of the roughness of urban living, set the mood for today’s hip-hop dance.

I so enjoyed the Fontomfrom performance. The dancers are so incredibly talented, and their movements are perfectly sharp and precise. I loved how the strong drum beats resounded throughout the room–I wanted to get up and dance too! I wish there were more opportunities to learn authentic African dance movements in our community. I think it is important for dance instructors to gain knowledge of world dance forms to offer to their students–I think having a well-rounded conception of dance that is not culture-specific would make a dancer more well-rounded in the way they approach movement, and in the way that their body is trained to move as well. I also would love to see an African dance workout created–the dancers were moving non-stop, and sweating like crazy! They were all really in shape. I think an African dance workout could easily become even more popular than Zumba. The drum beats are fun and energizing, and the movement also seems really fun, but incredibly intense!

If you have the opportunity to see Fontomfrom, or another African dance performance, I would highly recommend that you go! It was an incredible experience.

Friday March 30th the Ann Arbor community gathered downtown after sunset for the Fool Moon festival, the first event of FestiFools. People of all ages brought their hand-made luminaries to showcase, and many people got dressed up in wacky outfits for the event.

The crowd paraded through the Diag, through Nickels Arcade, and into downtown, showing off their luminaries. Downtown, near Frita Batidos, there was a tent with live entertainment, and what looked like beer, though I couldn’t get close enough to find out! There were live musicians as well, including a man with a tuba, and a few students banging on buckets that were hanging from their necks, as they walked through the crowd. There was also video being projected onto the side of a building, though the clips seemed somewhat random, and there was no sound. However the randomness fit well with the theme of the night.

The event felt like pure craziness. There seemed to be little organization, and everyone stood around in their silly costumes, holding their luminaries and looking around at everyone else. Other than the live music and the beer, there really wasn’t much else going on. There was a guy with a moon pie luminary hat selling “fool moon pies” for $2. Other than that there was no other food for sale, or any other activities going on. It was really fun to go and see, but I didn’t stay very long, as there really wasn’t much to do but stand there and look at all the luminaries. I think in the future it would be good for the event to be more organized, and for there to be more entertainment and food downtown for the event. It would also be nice to have a line-up of all the luminaries and maybe have a contest awarding prizes for the best ones–maybe people could vote, or cheer for their favorites. The idea of Fool Moon is really interesting and fun, but I think there needs to be more planned components of the event in order to make it a lasting tradition. I can’t imagine putting so much work into making a luminary just to stand there in the street downtown in a crowd of people for a few hours. I think there needs to be more to it than that.

All in all, the event was interesting and fun to go to. It was really cool to see the street lit up with hand-made luminaries in all different crazy shapes and sizes, with people dressed up in silly costumes, and loud, electronic-rock music blasting–it was a really unique experience! If you weren’t able to make it to Fool Moon this year, I would definitely recommend checking it out next year. It’s one of those events that if you live in Ann Arbor, you must experience it once!