Spokane Will Feast On Buffet Of Traditional African, Asian Dances

Spokane is awash in ethnic dance performances this month, thanks in part to the Asian Cultural Festival. The lineup includes traditional Korean, Filipino and Indian dances.

Beyond the Asian Fest offerings, a dance troupe that performs West African traditional dances will appear twice today in a benefit for the Spokane Food Bank and the SFCC and SCC Student Food Banks.

The Northwest Afrikan American Ballet will perform original choreography inspired by the traditional dances of Senegal, Gambia, Mali and Guinea at 3 p.m. at Spokane Community College and at 7:30 p.m. at Spokane Falls Community College.

The afternoon dance is part of the Unity in Our Community conference and is open to conference participants only. Registration for the day-long seminar is $20; for details call 533-3032.

Admission to the evening performance, which is at the SFCC Performing Arts Building (No. 15), is one non-perishable food item.

Artistic director Bruce Smith founded the 20-member Northwest Afrikan American Ballet in 1982. In addition to creating all of the dances, Smith is lead drummer for the group and dances in some pieces. The Portland, Ore.-based group has toured extensively in the Northwest, Alaska, California and last year to South Africa. This is the troupe’s first performance in Spokane.