Festival of African cultures coming to the Civic Theatre

By Mary Dennehy

A FESTIVAL of African cultures is coming to the stage of the Civic Theatre later this month, which will boast a mix of traditional and modern African dance and music.

Organised by experts in African instrumentation, music and dance, the festival will run in the local theatre on Saturday, July 23, at 7pm, with the programme offering people “a glimpse into special exotic rhythms of Africa and to replicate forgotten African cultures”.

Acts include bands from Nigeria and Congolese and performances of an African masquerade dance, a south Sudanese maiden dance and the Atilogwu dance, which is a highly artistic and acrobatic style of dance that dates back hundreds of years before the coming of the Europeans to Africa.

The theatre will also be open on July 23 between 3pm and 5pm for locals to come play, see and feel African drums, tradition instruments and costumes and learn about their history, how they were made and their meanings.

This open visit is free to the public.

Tickets to the show at 7pm cost €10 and for more information or booking, visit www.civictheatre.ie of call the Box Office on 4627477.