It was 2:30pm Wednesday i went to a Sabar dance class on 26st and 5ft avenue. While I was walking into the building i saw people going in. These people were chinese American, white Americans, and Black African American.They were dressing on they African attire, wish reminds me back in Senegal what we used to do. We would dress uo nice, with our different color. The clothing material can bi wax or Bassa. I was surprised in my mind I said, “ What are these people doing here.” We took the elevator to the fifth floor. When the elevator door opened I saw tables with people selling African clothing, shoes and beads that the women put around there weaste.The African can be long dress or short. The dress has to be lose on your body, or else it wont be comfortable to dance. The owners of the materials were screaming, intertaining people to buy, they were running after people to show them the clothing. However, I heard the students were saying the class starts at 3: 30pm. They walked to the locker room. The locker room was small, not enough space.
It is 3:30pm the Students are on the dance floor. When i walked into the dance class, the light was bright like the sun, mirrors all around the room. The floor was clean, you didnt need your shoes. The room was big like a school gym. The students will be arranged by lines, each line will have seven people, in vertical line. I was also undressed with the students. There were posters of pictures of old dancers and drummers. I was surprised at the dancers, I wasn’t expecting them being ready to dance. I was feeling that they were going to be scared and nervous to be on the dance floor. The room was painted with different colors, I guess it was trying to represent the color of the Senegal flag wich were Green, Yellow and Red, and a green start on the yellow.
The students were in a rush to undressed and put on there dance clothes. I was so surprised, I asked a girl who was near me, her name was Jennifer, i said “ why are they on a rush? the class was supposed to start 3:30 and is only 3:00pm?” she said, “ these people are always like this, they love the dance so much, that when they getting ready they always panic to get on the dance floor and start the dance.” I was standing there looking arund. The locker room was smeeling kind off funky, but there was a bathroom in the locker room. It was smelling bad, i guess also that was one of the reason the students were rushing to go to the dance floor. The Locker room was small only few amount of people can be in the long the dance movement that they were doing. I had most of the students asking me how to do the dance because the teacher was going to fast. I was kind of uncomfortable showing them because I dont know how to teach the dance, it was the teacher job to slow down so that they can catch up with the routines. While we was working on the dance, their was one of the students who was late, she ran into the class with her long black hair tight up, with her big “ Grand Boumbou” wish is one of the clothing material that old people back in Senegal wore to dance. The student who was late, was confused with the dance so she step aside and watch us dance, from there she catches up. They was a strong sound of the drums. They were more then seven drummers, so it was extra loud. The dancers were wearing leggings, a shirt and the African wrap around them. Few of them wore African clothes, the elderly wore the “ Grand Boumbou” and the young girls wore “ Taye basse” Is more fitted. The young girls would prefer Taye Basse because they would try to look sexy. Taye Basse is more fitted, just a little tight into your body.
It was 5 a clock, I walked out the dance floor to grab something to drink. I saw new people registering for the dance. It was a group of white American and Black African American. I didn’t know the name of the school so I asked a random person, she said it is called the “ Maimouna Keita school of African Dance.” Then I asked how much was to registered for the class, it is 30 dollars for 2 weeks and the package is 115 dollars to take 5 dance class, 3 music class and 2 drum.
