Manga African Dance, Inc. Presents The 8th Annual Osun Festival August 26 -- 28, 2005

Manga African Dance, Inc., Atlantas premier West African dance company, is hosting its 8th Annual Osun festival - a collage of dance, drumming, theater and spirituality - on August 26-28, 2005. It will be held in the Sullivan Auditorium at the Atlanta Workforce Development located 818 Pollard Blvd.

(PRWEB) August 12, 2005 -- Manga African Dance, Inc., Atlantas premier West African dance company, is hosting its 8th Annual Osun festival to be held at the Atlanta Workforce Development, Sullivan Auditorium located 818 Pollard Blvd., SW Street Atlanta Georgia 30315. Fridays show, designed for students, begins at 11 a.m. There will be a 2 p.m. matinee show on Saturday followed by a 7:30pm performance. In addition, there will be a special Workshop on Sunday, August 28th at 1 p.m. at the Adamsville Recreation Center located 3201 Martin L. King Drive.

Mangas annual homage to Osun (pronounced O-shoon), a Yoruba Orisa (or messenger of God) originated in 1998 through an Artist Collaboration Grant from the City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs, and artists Ramatu Afegbua-Sabbatt (founder of Manga) and Adebisi Adeleke, master of the Talking Drum. Both are Atlanta based teaching artists and native Nigerians.

Presented each August, Mangas Osun celebration is a collage of dance, theater, drumming, and spirituality. Timed to occur concurrently with the Oshogbo Osun festival, Osun is an eight (8) day village celebration in Oshogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. Today, one of Nigerias biggest cultural events, the annual Oshogbo festival attracts a diverse audience of more than a half million believers and observers of Yoruba from all over the world. There will be Ibo, Yoruba, and Hausa Chiefs present at this festival.

Ramatu Afegbua-Sabbatt stated, We are very excited about telling the story of Osun to a broader audience this year. Not only will we showcase Yoruba cultural arts from Nigeria, but also, in the spirit of the global village, we are joining hands with Africa by celebrating simultaneously with the city of Oshogbo."

For more information on group or individual tickets, call 404-289-0640/404-725-4260 or email mangadance@yahoo.com. For information on Manga, please visit Mangadance.org. Ad space is still available in the Manga souvenir booklet.

Manga African Dance, Inc. is a non-profit organization founded in 1990 by Ramatu Afegbua-Sabbatt. This organization exists to preserve African culture through dance education and performance. It is composed of artists of African descent, the US, and the Caribbean. Mangas high energy repertoire includes dances and rituals from the Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa.

Funding for this program is provided in part by Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) through the appropriations of the general assembly. GCA is a partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding for the Fulton county Arts Council is provided by the Fulton County Commission under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.

We welcome interviews with Ramatu Sabbatt for the event.

Contact:
Ramatu Sabbatt
404-725-4260
mangadance@yahoo.com

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