Queensborough Community College in Bayside held its annual Kwanzaa celebration on Saturday, Dec. 14.
The event featured performative dances from the Kofago Dance Ensemble. This year’s theme was “Obumu,” which translates to unity in Uganda’s Buganda language. Each dance highlighted the strengths found in community bonds, shared purpose, and togetherness.
Some of the notable performers during the Kwanzaa celebration included Ugandan actress Madina Nalwanga and Kofago Dance Ensemble Principal Member and Choreographer Bakary Fall.
“Today is an amazing day for celebrating Kwanzaa. I put a piece for what I felt like when I came to the United States, what I see in general and what happens in the streets,” Fall said. “I got inspired by what I saw. In my piece, I put what people are going through. I also incorporated traditional parts of my Senegalese culture. It was an amazing experience to share your culture with other people.”
“I choreographed a piece from Kampala, from the northern part of Uganda,” Nalwanga said. “It is a dance done by youths, and it’s done during ceremonies. Young people come together to perform these dances to bring all the energy out and celebrate life. A lot of women are not given a chance to come together and work together, but this dance is mainly about that. Women and young girls coming together and doing their thing. It’s a way of expressing your inner self through dance.”
Queensborough Community College Lecturer and Kofago Dance Ensemble Founder Kevin McEwan is proud of the fact that this event has become an annual tradition since it was first held in 2018. “It’s a way for young people from the community here to celebrate African diaspora culture through dance, music, and songs,” McEwan said.
