The Griot Day
Learn it · Share a meal · Perform it together
Five hours. Three arts. One show.
You learn in the afternoon and perform before the evening. Every session builds a piece of the final show.
- 12:00
Sabar 1½ hours
The talking drum of Senegal. Rhythms, calls and answers, played with hand and stick.
- 13:30
Djembe 1½ hours
The West African hand drum. A group rhythm we build together, layer by layer.
- 15:00
Food Included
Refreshments and a shared meal. Sit down, eat together, get to know the group.
- 15:45
Stories 30 min
The griot's craft: the spoken word that carries the history behind the music.
- 16:15
The Griot Show All together
The sabar group, the djembe group and the storytellers perform as one.
Every piece comes together
Each session is a piece of a puzzle. On their own they are a drum class, a story, a meal. At the end of the day they fit together into one show: the sabar group, the djembe group and the storytellers, on the floor together.
That is what a griot does: keeps music, story and people together. For one Saturday, you are part of it.
Karim Mbaye
Senegalese master drummer, based in Manchester. Karim leads the Karim Band, the originators of SABAR BEAT, where the talking-drum language of sabar sits at the centre of a live band.
Every Friday he teaches drumming in Manchester. The Griot Day is the whole of it in one Saturday: the drums, the stories, the food and the show.
Book your place
- Sabar session · 1½ hours
- Djembe session · 1½ hours
- Storytelling · 30 min
- Refreshments and food
- Your part in The Griot Show
Windrush Millennium Centre (Unit 17), 70 Alexandra Road, Moss Side, Manchester M16 7WD · Map