First Somali dance performance ‘such an honor’ at Timberwolves game Saturday
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Mohamoud O. Mohamed is a longtime Timberwolves fan. The artistic director of the Somali Museum of Minnesota in Minneapolis noticed something was missing when he attended games: Somali representation.
“Minnesota has the largest Somali population in North America, so attending these games, I envisioned seeing our culture showcased on such a big platform,” Mohamed says.
Mohamed says he began reaching out to the Timberwolves to request a performance spot and recently secured it.
On Saturday at the Target Center, the Somali Museum Dance Troupe will perform for the pre-show at the Timberwolves-Boston Celtics game.
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“It just fills me with pride to present our culture on such a grand stage,” Mohamed says.
Mohamed, who coaches the dance troupe, says this marks a milestone for the Somali community.
“We are the first Somali entertainers to perform at an NBA game,” Mohamed says.
Twelve dancers between the ages of 17 and 25 will perform a “mashup” of the traditional Somali dances of shirib and dhaanto. Mohamed explains that shirib is a traditional Somali victory dance often performed at social gatherings. Dhaanto, revived by the famous Somali musician Ali Dhaanto, comes from the Somali region of Ethiopia and features poetry and movements that often mimic animals and is performed to recorded music that Mohamed says often has a “reggae feel.”
Dhaanto “is very popular with the younger generation, and it mimics the actions of a camel,” Mohamed says. The camel, he explains, is a very important animal in Somali culture for transportation, milk, meat and, historically, included in marriage dowries.
“Camels are everything to us, so it would make sense that there’s a whole dance dedicated to camels,” Mohamed says.
For the dhaanto performance, the troupe will use a recording of an Ali Dhaanto song that Mohamed says was dedicated to the Somali Museum, the first museum of its kind in North America.
“This is such an honor,” Mohamed says. “There will be thousands of people there who have never encountered Somali culture before, and for them to see a part of our culture through dance, it just means a lot.”
For those unable to catch the performance, Mohamed recommends following the dance troupe on TikTok, where it has helped popularize traditional Somali dances in the U.S.
