After the opening evening of the Festival that quietly reflected upon a history and its forgotten ghosts, the drums from Senegal will resonate around the fortress walls of the Belluard in celebration of the meeting between our many cultures, symbolic perhaps of a hope for a future that will bring about greater understanding and tolerance. Doudou N'diaye Rose is recognized as one of Senegal's leading ambassadors who has brought to the world a new form of music, thoroughly modern and inventive, yet totally pure and respectful of it's traditions. He is nowadays perceived as a genuine conductor, equal to the greatest classical or contemporary symphony orchestra conductors ("The Boulez of percussion"}. He conducts his drummers with a power, precision, grace and virtuosity, in a manner not unlike that of a master in martial arts. They play genuine drum symphonies that shine by their brilliant rhythm superimpositions. Living in the heart of Dakar's mostlively working class areas, Doudou's home never stops beating with the sounds of countless drummers and percussionists, who gather to play for the joy of it. Among them are many women, for the most part Doudou's own daughters and daughters-in-law.
ln Africa the vision of women drummers is quite uncommon, even revolutionary. There is something quite magical, even spirituel, in the sight and sounds of twenty drummers set against the backdrop of a decaying, but beautiful building, as the sun goes down.