Bi-Okoto Kicks off Macy's Arts Sampler Weekend at Sharonville

Next Saturday, on February 25 at 12:30, Bi-Okoto Cultural Institute will be
leading off the activities at the Sharonville Fine Arts Center. It's all part of the
community wide Macy's Arts Sampler Program, and it's definitely worth
checking out ArtsWave and the awesome Sampler program.

We're pretty excited to be hosting Bi-Okoto, partly because these pictures of
drumming and dancing on their site make it look like the performances must
be fantastic fun, and partly because we got to meet Jeaunita Olowe and talk
to her a little bit about Bi-Okoto.

Ms. Olowe is Bi-Okoto's company manager and rehearsal. She grew up in
Over-the-Rhine and graduated from Cape High School, then Miami U and
the University of Cincinnati. She's classically trained in ballet, and was
working in education and outreach for the Cincinnati Ballet when she went to audition for Bi-Okoto, and
18 years later....well, as they say, the rest is history!

Ms. Olowe explained that she was taken with the wide variations of African styles of dancing and
drumming. From one country, for example, Nigeria, there are three major cultural groups, that have
500 different languages, and even more dialects. Each has its own dance and drum styles and traditions,
which can range from a "talking" drum that you carry to a six foot tall drum that you have to run and
jump to strike. That barely begins to cover Nigeria.

Ms. Olowe went on to say, that Bi-Okoto performs dances and drumming that is representative of all of
Africa, and they do this all over the United State and Europe. In the next week or so, they'll have
dancers in KY, IN, OH, and the Carolinas.

She told me the audience would be dancing. We're excited, and we hope to see you there!