Atumpan African Dance Honors Nelson Mandela

      The wind blew across the savannah plains and elephants trumpeted in the background as villagers gathered to celebrate the arts in creative ways.  Young and old were in love and respect of one another as Atumpan African Dance graced the plains in colorful garb to perform West African and South African dance.  The South African song, Siyahamba, was in tribute to the late great Nelson Mandela as we embrace his legacy of acceptance and equality for all people.

      Okay, so the savannah plains were actually the Field Stage area of the Norfolk Zoo, but there really were elephants (quietly) hanging out in the background.  The event was hosted by Young Audiences of VA, one of our favorite arts-in-education companies, entitled Arts are Wild.  We had load of fun performing and enjoying the puppet shows, folk music, and colonial dances of other artists as well as the authors and books there to promote  the joys of reading. 
      Join us sometime for ongoing classes suitable for all ages at the Attucks Theatre in Norfolk, or for onsite educational programming related to antibullying, world literature, and history.