Thiossane West African Dance Institute 24^th Annual Concert

Folklore: Community and Culture | May 18 | 7:30p | Lincoln Theatre

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Folklore is the tradition of passing beliefs, history, and customs through the generations by the retelling of stories. The common thread of any culture’s folklore is filled with tradition and the pride of the ancestors. These stories are laced with symbolism and are rich with tidbits of the cultures they represent. They are the vehicle used to transport the oral history of a people, through which values are instilled and the lens through which they teach its children to see themselves. Some stories are true, some are not, and some are a mixture of both.

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Anansi, the spider, is the mischievous, shrewd, and cunning creature in many popular Ashanti folktales from the rich gold coast of Ghana, the cocoa capital of the world. This global folktale lesson of honoring family strength, aspiring to be well-cultured and of good character, will be brought to life on stage by the Thiossane West African Dance Institute.

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If you listen carefully, tonight’s performance of community and culture will embrace you like soothing hugs from Grandfather and will fill you like Mama’s cooking, carrying messages that tickle your minds and whisper to your hearts the lessons of the soul.