West African Dance joins battle to keep recreation centers open

By Felix Hoover

For YourNewsColumbus.com

An intergenerational dance troupe welcomed questions from the audience following its weekend performances at the Davis Center for the Performing Arts.

Dancers and drummers with the Thiossane West African Dance Institute readily clarified some of the traditions from the Diaspora that were woven into the group’s fall showcase performances on Nov. 21 and 22 at the facility on Franklin Avenue.

But some of the concerns raised by folks on and off the stage can be answered only by city officials.

The Davis Center is among the recreation facilities whose future is uncertain in light of the current economic climate.

In his recently released budget proposal, Mayor Michael B. Coleman said that a dozen recreation centers and three swimming pools would need to be closed as part of the belt-tightening effort necessary for the city to live within its means.

Advocates for several recreation facilities, including costumed backers of the Davis Center, pleaded on behalf of their favorite sites at a recent City Council Budget Committee hearing.

In the case of Thiossane, its principals are concerned about the status of three of the buildings that it regularly uses for youth and adult programs – the Davis Center on Franklin Avenue, the Davis Youth Complex at Franklin Park and Thompson Recreation Center on the North Side.

“We would pretty much have to find another facility in which to hold our community classes and do our community performances,” said Suzan Bradford Kounta, artistic director of the Thiossane West African Dance Institute.

Annually, the troupe performs its big performance Downtown, but most of its work is in the community, she said.

The dancers have established a good working relationship with the other staff members at the Davis Center in mentoring young people through the arts, Kounta said. The discipline the comes with a fun activity carries over to school work and other aspects of young people’s lives.

It’s one thing for staff members to fight for their facilities, but parents have taken on the challenge as well and Kounta said she thinks their voices are likely to be heard by those who ultimately will decide which places will stay open and which will not.

One of the programs that would be unfortunate to lose is the summer camp at the Davis Center, said Sonia Howard, whose daughter dances with Thiossane.

“During the summer, when they have the summer camp, they have full use of Franklin Park, which is ideal for children,” Mrs. Howard said

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