Johnny Clegg at Dartmouth 2004

South African songwriter and musician Johnny Clegg visited Dartmouth on Wednesday, July 7, 2004. The pictures and text below illustrate portions of that exciting day when Johnny Clegg, his band and their African spirit permeated the Dartmouth campus. Students and faculty came out in force to participate in several exciting and interesting events and learn more about the African environment, history, music and culture.

Lecture in 105 Dartmouth Hall

 

 

 

 

 

 

Johnny Clegg began his day in Hanover by lecturing to a combined meeting of classes from Environmental Studies, History, African and African American Studies, Anthropology and Government. Clegg's lecture was remarkably engaging, and kept the 150 students and faculty on the edge of their seats for the entire class. In an articulate and energetic talk, Clegg compared Western and Zulu culture, described various types of native African dance and then demonstrated many of these dances with surprising agility. The lecture also included humming, chanting and three songs accompanied by the rhythmic Zulu twang of his guitar.

An African Afternoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few hours after the lecture, students and faculty came together for an African Afternoon in front of the Collis Student Center . The afternoon featured African drumming, food, crafts, film and slide presentations by students, and discussion tables led by faculty and others on a variety of topics including global health issues, women and protest in Nigeria and the ENVS African Foreign Study Program. Food was provided by Tastes of Africa and by David Jenks, who roasted two goats for the occasion. The afternoon was a huge success, bringing out a large number of people to converse, experience different aspects of Africa and enjoy the beautiful July weather underneath the flags of the 14 African Nations represented by students, faculty and staff at Dartmouth.

The first picture in this sequence shows Dartmouth faculty member Ayo Coly standing beside Bekah Gero, the sister of current Dartmouth undergraduate Jesse Gero ('06). During the African Afternoon, these two individuals discovered that they both spoke Jola and upon further discussion realized that Coly's parents and the Geros were both from Baila, a small African village in Senegal. A brief cell phone call to Senegal confirmed that their parents were acquaintances.

An Evening with the Johnny Clegg Band

 

 

 

 

Clegg's day at Dartmouth culminated with a high-energy concert in sold-out Spaulding Auditorium. The concert attracted 900 people from the Dartmouth Community and the Upper Valley. Clegg's performance was both moving and great fun.

Here are two comments from Dartmouth undergraduates:

"Being an usher at the Hop, I have seen a lot of shows and concerts and this was the first where practically 3/4 of the audience was up and dancing."

"The concert was absolutely incredible. I have never seen Spaulding auditorium like it was that night, and it went to further prove that music can cross all cultural and racial boundaries. His anecdotes and explanations in between songs were almost as fascinating as the songs themselves."

The band featured: Johnny Clegg on guitar, vocals and concertina; Mandisa Dlanga on vocals and dancing; Andy Innes on guitar and vocals; Concord Nkabinde on bass guitar and vocals; Brendan Ross on sax, keyboard and vocals; and Barry Van Zyl on drums.

Play List of the Johnny Clegg Band

Wednesday, July 7th, 2004 -- Spaulding Auditorium, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.

1. Take My Heart Away
2. Circle of Light
3. Digging for Some Words
4. Gunship Ghetto
5. Giyani
6. Melonjeni
7. Africa
8. One (Hu)'man One Vote
9. Bullets for Bafazane
10. Woza Friday
11. I Call Your Name
12. 3rd World
13. Into the Picture
14. Tough Enough
15. Great Heart
16. Scatterlings of Africa
17. Cruel Crazy Beautiful World
18. Asimbonga
19. Dela

Acknowledgments

This day was made possible by the Programming Board, The Student Activities Office and the Environmental Studies Program and was funded in part by the President's Summer Arts Initiative. Andy Friedland particularly wants to thank Linda Kennedy and Ben Waters ('06) for humoring him when this day was only a dream and then collaborating whole heartedly as the dream became a reality.

All photographs courtesy of Joseph Mehling, Dartmouth College Photographer. © 2004