ADE JEMBE FOLA 🎶 | African Drum & Dance Performances in Buffalo

Vanacore Media partnered with Buffalo’s renowned African drum and dance ensemble Ade Jembe Fola, led by master percussionist Wale Kasumu, for a full-day production capturing the group’s powerful live performances through both video and photography.

Filmed on January 29, the production followed Ade Jembe Fola across two major performance locations in Buffalo, New York, documenting the group’s energy, rhythm, and cultural storytelling through a cinematic lens.

The first performance took place at City Honors School on Best Street at 9:00 AM, where the ensemble delivered an electrifying drum and dance presentation for students and attendees. Ade Jembe Fola’s performances combine traditional West African drumming, expressive choreography, and audience interaction, creating an immersive cultural experience. The performance lasted approximately 30 minutes, and Vanacore Media captured the event using multiple camera angles and dynamic movement to preserve both the sound and visual energy of the performance.

Throughout the production, cameras moved through the space to highlight the intricate rhythms of the djembe drums, the synchronized dancers, and the connection between performers and audience members. The goal was to document the performance in a way that allowed viewers to feel as if they were present in the room, surrounded by the sound and movement of the ensemble.

Later that evening at 5:00 PM, the production continued at KeyBank Center, one of the city’s most recognizable arenas. This second performance expanded the scale of the production, with the group performing a longer set that ran up to two hours, showcasing a broader range of rhythms, choreography, and traditional African performance styles.

Vanacore Media captured the evening performance with the same cinematic approach — incorporating multiple camera perspectives, fluid camera movement, and close-up coverage of the drummers, dancers, and performers as they brought the stage to life. The result is a visual documentation of both the musical precision and the powerful cultural expression that defines Ade Jembe Fola.

The production was directed by Giovanni Vanacore, with photography by Ally Lauber and production assistance from Jacob Matias. Together, the team spent the entire day capturing both performances, documenting the group’s work through professional video coverage and high-quality photography.

The City Honors School performance is now live on YouTube, allowing viewers to experience the performance and the cultural artistry of Ade Jembe Fola. The KeyBank Center performance will be released soon, continuing the visual series captured during the production day.

For the Vanacore Media team, the opportunity to document Ade Jembe Fola’s performances was not only a creative production but also an incredible cultural experience, highlighting the power of traditional music, movement, and storytelling within the Buffalo arts community.

🎬 Watch the City Honors performance now on YouTube.

YOUTUBE:https://www.youtube.com/@VanacoreMedia