"The Spirit of Uganda," a program of East African music and dance designed to empower African youth and culturally inform others, will be presented at the University of La Verne's Morgan Auditorium at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3. Guests are asked for a suggested donation of $20 for the performance. Admission is free for students. (Courtesy photo)
Continuing its effort to create “the La Verne experience,” the University of La Verne’s College of Arts and Science and the Music Department will present the “Spirit of Uganda” in the university’s Morgan Auditorium at 6 p.m. Monday.
An abridged, smaller version of the East African music and dance program will expand the cultural awareness and appreciation of ULV students and interested Inland Valley residents.
Jonathan Reed, college dean, said the university’s mission includes offering diverse experiences to assure students graduate more informed and appreciative of international people, cultures, concepts and communities. University officials want students enriched by the La Verne experience to enrich the world.
“Spirit of Uganda” is a special presentation in the Sundays at the Morgan series and part of the university’s Black History Month celebration. The Uganda concert was set for the first Monday in February to avoid conflict with Super Bowl Sunday.
There is a suggested donation of $20 for general and adult admission. Admission for students and children age 12 and younger is free. Tickets may be purchased at the door and reserved online.
Ancient and contemporary traditions are celebrated in the program equally appealing to all ages. It features standing drums, dramatic choreography, layered rhythms, call-and-response vocals and colorful costumes by Ugandan youth ages 8 to 18, according to the show’s producer Empower African Children.
“Spirit of Uganda” is a professional training and touring program, according to the group’s web site. Empower African Children is a nonprofit organization in the United States and a non-governmental organization in Uganda. Led by artistic director Peter Kasule, young dancers and musicians share cultural traditions from East Africa and introduce some of the dynamic music and dance forms being created now, the web site states.
The troupe acts as cultural ambassadors in performances staged at the United Nations General Assembly, New York University’s Skirball Center, the Joyce Theater in New York City, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, the Pittsburg Cultural Trust, Vancouver Cultural Olympiad, Macy’s Passport AIDS benefits in Los Angeles and San Francisco and other university and cultural centers throughout North America, according to Empower African Children.
“Spirit of Uganda” concerts raise funds to support orphaned and vulnerable children in Uganda.
Rachel Magoola, a cultural icon in Uganda and former singer with the popular Kampala band Afrigo, is among special guest artists for the group’s 2014 tour. She has performed at the Royal Festival and Queen Elizabeth Halls in England and serves as an activist for the girl education movement in Uganda and the Voice of Hospice Uganda. She also heads a primary school and teachers’ college founded by her parents in Iganga..
Kasule is an award-winning composer, musician, choreographer, audio-visual engineer and founder of K Studios and Mobile Sounds in Kampala, Uganda. In 1994, his dance troupe won the “Best Performers” award at the International Children’s Festival in Germany. An original member of the Children of Uganda touring company, he served as that group’s director from 2004 to 2006.