Celebrate to African drumbeats

Explore the culture of Africa on African Night, which begins at 7 p.m. Aug. 27 at the Plaza Hotel Conference Center, 801 S. Carson St.

The fundraiser for the Children's Museum of Northern Nevada features African food, African dance, drums and parade, plus live and silent auctions that includes items from Africa.

The members of Anouaze Beat will share their love of African drums and dance during the evening.

"I want people to come and share African culture with us," said group founder Norbert Yao. "Not just food; not just drums; not just parade. We teach some people to play drums and dance."

Yao and group leader Jean Dominique Bouame, a professional choreographer, dancer and drummer, are both from Ivory Coast in Western Africa.

Yao came to the United States 11 years ago with his wife Cathy, who was a missionary to Ivory Coast with New Tribe missions.

"I come from Africa and live in a place where sometimes I miss my culture, my home," Yao said of the motivation to begin Anouaze Beat. "I want to share my culture with people here in town and all over the area."

Anouaze is a word from the Baule tribe that means

togetherness.

"The reason I chose the name, I'm in a different country with different mix of races, to try to put everyone together through

drumming."

"The drum is the uniting force," said Mary Hutchins, a Spanish Springs resident who drives down to Carson City for the weekly rehearsals at the Children's Museum.

"It's high energy, noise energy. It's quite a workout."

At appearances, Anouaze Beat invites the audience to join in. Hutchins is one of many members who first came to watch and then became part of the group.

"I saw all the drums," she said. "I'm a belly dancer (who dances regularly at Comma Coffee). I wanted to learn dance."

The drums are the center piece of Anouze Beat, as they are in Africa. Any important life event, such as a wedding, is celebrated with drums, Yao explained.

The drums used by Anouaze Beat are handmade and include the djembe, doumbe bau, and doumdoum. They also play a wood and gourd zylophone-like instrument called a balaphone. Their costumes come from Ghana and Ivory Coast.

Other Africans from the Reno area will be preparing food for the African Night fundraiser. Yao explained that there is a good sized group of Africans who have ended up in northwestern Nevada. They include natives of Cameroon, Guinea, Nigeria, Kenya, and Burkina Faso, who came to study at the University of Reno.

Tickets for African Night are $30 general; $25 students and seniors; and $20 for children under 12. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Children's Museum of Northern Nevada. To purchase tickets, contact the Children's Museum at 884-2226 or the Plaza Hotel at 883-9500.