40 years for Kulu Mele

These folks know how to throw a party. To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Kulu Mele, Philadelphia's oldest African dance-and-drum ensemble, held a fund-raising gala Friday at the New Freedom Theatre with a program so rich it could easily have been stretched over two evenings.

Every successful party needs a skillful host, and holding together the disparate elements of this program (three short dance numbers, a poetry recitation, a documentary film, and the ostensible highlight: Mali Sadjo, a traditional West African dance drama that company members learned during a two-week residency in Guinea in December) was Chuck Davis, who established his own African-dance ensemble in New York City in 1968. Davis served as a brilliant MC, his regal bearing enhanced by colorful robes, and his deep, James-Earl-Jonesian voice lending additional authority to everything he said.

At first, it was difficult to understand what the identical-twin brothers identified simply as Al and Ninamdi (the printed program left out a great deal of important information) were doing on the bill. But their riveting performance of poems dealing with the problems facing black youngsters in 21st-century urban America underscored the evening's overall theme of respect - for oneself, one's history, and one's community.

During the first part of the program, Kulu Mele's 10 expert drummers and singers, plus a baker's dozen of hyper-energetic dancers, brought down the house with their joyful, polyrhythmic unison work, plus virtuosic solos.

But after all this, plus the marvelous film In Search of Mali Sadjo, the dance drama itself was a disappointment. Clearly, the company's African sojourn had tremendous artistic, and personal, significance for the performers, including company directors Dorothy and John Wilkie and founding director Robert Crowder. But Mali Sadjo is very literal - too literal, for my taste. This legend of a young woman (Sadjo) and Mali, the hippopotamus-spirit that protects her village, emphasizes pantomime, which seemed more effective in the large African-dance companies that toured the United States during the 1960s and '70s. And yet, at other points, Mali Sadjo wasn't literal enough; for example, it wasn't always clear what the performers were supposed to be celebrating.

Of course, the main goal of Kulu Mele is to emphasize continuity, as techniques, steps, and other cultural traditions are handed down from one generation to another. Mali Sadjo does this, but the most obvious - and enjoyable - embodiment of such continuity was a group of little girls whose adorability was matched by their dancing and drumming skills.