Halifax African dance troupe to perform for Obama

Four dancers and two drummers from Halifax's Maritime Centre for African Dance will perform at president-elect's Barak Obama's African Inaugural Ball in Washington, D.C., on Sunday.

Athird hand drummerhad to pass up the chance to play atthe event that will kick off the festivities celebrating the inauguration of the first African-American president of the United States. He'sbooked to travel to Cuba on Sunday for his honeymoon.

The honeymoon vacation at a four-star resort was purchased by Glenn Fraser's parents as a wedding gift to their son and his bride, Joyce Saunders, who were married in October. But the couple didn't buy travel cancellation insurance, never dreaming something else would arise.

"Honestly, I can't imagine any more of a pressure cooker," Fraser, 45, who plays the djembe with the MCAD, told the Halifax Chronicle Herald.

"It's the gig of a lifetime for me as a hand percussionist to perform for the president-elect. And a honeymoon comes along only once in a lifetime for some people."

The MCAD, which was formed in 2005,applied three weeks ago for the chance to perform at the ball. Members learned late last week that they had been accepted.

The group was the only African-Canadian dance troupe chosen. It will perform before African dignitaries, U.S. state governors, and Obama and his wife Michelle.

"Being the only group of African dancers from Canada selected to perform at this prestigious event speaks to the centre's dedication to preserving and promoting African culture in Nova Scotia and across Canada," Barry Barnet, Minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs, said in a release.

The group's four dancers are Vida Ggunney, Dally Baldeh, Ruvimbo Mzududuand and Mufaro Chakabuda. They will be accompanied by drummers Wayn Hamilton and Jeff Chown.