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African Dance and
African American Dance Resources
Page Content:
African Dance Master
Sites
- Free
to Dance
Website from the PBS Special offers an extensive collection
of links and resources
- WADaBo
(West African Dance in Boston).
"We are a group of individuals engaged in a collective
effort to promote West African Dancing, Drumming, Music and
Culture in and around Boston.
There are many master teachers here, and a growing community of
students. We hope that this site can serve as a mode of
communication amongst this community and a means of promotion
for teachers based in Boston as well as those who are going to
be holding guest workshops here."
African Dance Companies
- ABUSUA
West African drumming and dance ensemble.
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-
African-American
Dance Ensemble
This is the wonderful company founded by Chuck Davis. The
company is based in Durham, NC.
Africadance.dk
Based in Denmark, this link leads to "he Website of dancer Cynthia Lønborg
[specializing in] African dance shows: performance, drumming, workshops and entertainment.
Amawumbo dance company
Based in Zimbabwe and in Sweden, "Amawumbo dance company is made up of members who do traditional and contemporary dance works as well as concentrating on culture and traditions.Covering many ethnics dances ,afro-ballet and several other repoitire of dances."
Azaguno
Based in Parkersburg, West Virginia (USA), "Azaguno is a colorful and vibrant Multi-ethnic Ensemble which focuses on research, preservation, education and performance of traditional African music and dance, African American music and dance and other artistic expressions from the Caribbean and Latin America. The ensemble also creates contemporary intercultural works in new theatrical contexts that fuse the artistic and aesthetic cultural values and resources representative of African experiences in world history.
"
- BaoBao Festival
Based in Boulder Colorado, "ach year, BaoBao
Festival draws on the West African tradition of gathering under
the Baobao Tree for singing, dancing, drumming, and
storytelling. The festival is open for everyone in the community
to participate in the interactive workshop and performances."
- Beta Dance Troupe
Based in Israel, "The Beta
Dance Troupe (beta is an Amharic word meaning
house) presents a unique program of traditional Ethiopian Jewish
dance, mixing elements of Ethiopian tribal dances (mainly "eskesta"
- shoulder dancing - an Ethiopian traditional dance) and
artistic dance based on the culture of Ethiopian Jewry. The
troupe combines contemporary music and African rhythms with
ancient spirituals chanted in Ge'ez, the sacred language of
Ethiopian Jewry. Along with fascinating movements and
captivating rhythms, beta offers audiences
powerful insights into the experiences of exile and homecoming."
- Bi-Okoto
Drum and Dance Theatre
Authentic African (Nigerian) dance company, offering
performances, workshops, and classes.
- Diamano
Coura West African Dance Co
The Diamano Coura West African Dance Company is a kaleidoscope
of color, motion, sound and feeling in which the elemental
beauty and power of authentic traditional African ballet
illuminates the performing arena.
- Dimensions
Dance Theater
The purpose of Dimensions Dance Theater is to create, perform,
and teach dance that reflects the historical experiences and
contemporary lives of African Americans, and to promote the
knowledge and appreciation of African and African-derived dance
forms
- Djoniba
Dance and Drum Centre
- dedicated to bridging the gap between ages, races,
communities and cultures through dance and music, especially
black/African arts.
-
KanKouran
West African Dance Company
"Internationally renowned Washington, D.C.- based
KanKouran features dancers from Africa, the United States and
the Caribbean. Under the direction of Assane Konte and musical
director Yacine Gueye, both from Senegal, West Africa. "
Kariamu
& Company Traditions
Based in Philadelphia, "Kariamu & Company Traditions
is a contemporary African dance company that mesmerizes its
audiences with its compelling dance/theater works that speak to
the political, social, and spiritual experiences of African
people. Under the direction of Kariamu Welsh, D. A., professor
of Dance at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and
the first Artistic Director of the National Dance Company of
Zimbabwe"
- KanKouran
West African Dance Company
The 70-member Washington, DC-based company is dedicated to
preserving and sharing the culture of Africa. Founders Assane
Konte and Abdou Kounta are committed to exposing audiences to
traditional African cultural arts to foster cross-cultural
appreciation and understanding.
Kùlú Mèlé
African American Dance Ensemble
Kùlú Mèlé African American Dance Ensemble, founded by Baba Robert Crowder and directed by Dorothy Wilkie has been a vital driving force for more than 30 years behind the African cultural renaissance in
Philadelphia. The company presents African American dance traditions rooted in the cultures and aesthetic values of the African Diaspora, blending West African ancestral traditions and African American creativity. Kùlú Mèlé draws on the musical and movement forms of Brazil, Haiti, Cuba, Nigeria, Guinea, Ghana and the Senegambia region, as well as African American vernacular traditions including Hip-Hop, Bop, Cha-cha, and Slop.
- Kuumba
House Dance Theatre -
KUUMBA HOUSE is a performing arts company that preserves,
creates, teaches and presents the cultural experience of African
art forms through dance, theatre, music and other creative
expressions. The company is based in Houston Texas.
- Muntu
Dance Theatre
This Chicago (USA)-based Dance Theatre performs authentic
and progressive interpretations of contemporary and ancient
African and African-American dance, music, and folklore.
- Sashei
This company and school is based in Macon, Georgia. "Sashei which
means 'To Dance' in the Eritrean Language of Africa was founded in July of 2002 by Chequitha Davis-Albino and Terra
Gallemore; who desired to perform authentic African dances in their truest form."
- Silimbo
D'Adeane West African Dance Company
Company is based in the Cambridge/Boston, Massachusetts area of
the USA. "We are a group of African-rooted artists of many
cultural backgrounds and origins. We embrace and represent our
rich heritage through the work we do as a company --the cultures
of Africa and the cultures of the African Diaspora."
- Sounds
of Afrika
Sounds of Afrika is a company based in the Connecticut, New
York, and New Jersey tri-state area. The Afrikan
Dance and Drum troupe was founded to promote Afrikan and Afrikan-American
culture in the communities and schools. All of the members
have diverse backgrounds in the arts and extensive study of West
Afrikan dance and drumming techniques. Sounds of Afrika
has performed and facilitated after school programs in nearly
100 schools. They also have been featured on television
and in various publications and newspapers.
Soul in Motion
Players
Based in Rockville, Maryland, "the mission of Soul In
Motion Players, Inc. (SIMPINC) is to share the richness and
the experiences of the African-American culture through
Theatre, Dance, and Drumming."
- West
African Music and Dance-Drumming Concert Video Gallery
Atsia Dance-Drumming from Ewe people of Togo featuring Betty
Ladzekpo Adzohu sacred war dance-drumming from Benin Adzohu
sacred war dance-drumming from Benin African Music And Dance
Esemble Page
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Additional Schools
note: most companies listed above also operate education
programs:
- Congorhythms
It's not too clear from the website, where they are based,
but this organization offers workshops in Congolese dance in
places like Hawaii.
Dagara Music and Arts Center
"Bernard Woma opened the Dagara Music and Arts Center in Medie, Ghana, a suburb of the capital city, Accra. Students live and work at the center, where they pursue studies in traditional drumming, dancing, xylophone music and visual arts."
- Maimouna
Keita School of African Dance
Based in Brooklyn, New York
- Ucandanc
African Performing and Healing Arts
Based in the San Francisco area of California, USA, Masankho K.
Banda performs, teaches classes, and conducts workshops.
Umfundalai
African Dance technique
"Kariamu Welsh created the Umfundalai African Dance
technique in 1970 out of a quest for a functional and aesthetic
method that would mirror some of her personal experiences, as
well as a collective ethos and history that would reflect her
African and African American heritage."
Scholarship / Research
-
- Schomburg
Center for Research in Black Culture
- Smithsonian:
African American History and Culture
Selected links to sites hosted by Smithsonian Institution
museums and organizations. African and African American
Resources at the Smithsonian.
- Evening
of West African Music and Dance Video Gallery
Atsia Dance-Drumming from Ewe people of Togo featuring Betty
Ladzekpo Adzohu sacred war dance-drumming from Benin Adzohu
sacred war dance-drumming from Benin African Music And Dance
Esemble Page
- Dance
in South Africa
South Africa is a country dancing into its future as a new
democracy. Dance is part of the national character. South
Africans dance to express happiness, anger, frustration and
longing. It is this art form more than any other which is
pioneering integration. People of every race, creed and culture
have come together to explore an impulse which bridges the gulfs
of ignorance and intolerance, without being judgmental.
- Katherine
Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities
"The Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities are a
non-profit, multi-disciplinary arts organization founded by, and
currently operated under the artistic direction and leadership
of dance legend Katherine Dunham. The organization,
formerly known as the Dunham Fund for Research and Development
of Cultural Arts, exists to promote and preserve Miss Dunham's
legacy as embodied in her anthropological writings, films, and
works of visual art."
- Umoja
Dance Company
New Jersey based multi-cultural company of dancers established
in 1993 by Karen Love as a vehicle to present dance as a
communal and universal expression of life.
- Sacred
Dance Library at Touchstone
Interesting site that purports to document many dances from many
cultures.
- History
of the Mambo
By Isabelle Leymarie
I'll
Make me a World
(PBS Special on African Dance)
Bill
"Bojangles" Robinson
Bio - Nice site
Festivals
-
- The
Africans Are Coming An African Cultural Festival
Northern California's African Cultural Festival, popularly known
as "The Africans Are Coming. Companies included, The
Ladzekpo Brothers And The Africn Music And Dance Ensemble, C.K.
Ladzekpo, Director, Fua Dia Congo, Malonga Casquelourd,
Director, Diamano Coura West African Dance Company, Zak Diouf,
Director, Ceedo Senegalese Dance Company, Allasane Kane and
Abdoulaye Diakate, Directors, and Dimension Dance Theatre,
Deborah Vaugh, Director. CK Ladzekpo, Director A video clip of
slow movement of Agbeko, a war dance suite from the Anlo-Ewe
people of Ghana, West Africa A video clip of the fast movement
of Agbeko, a war dance suite from the Anlo-Ewe people of Ghana,
West Africa Diamano Coura West African Dance Company Zak Diouf,
Director A video clip of Lamba from the Xasonke people of Mali,
West Africa Fua Dia Congo Congolese Dance Company Malonga
Casquelourd, Director A video clip of BaKongo from the BaKongo
people of Central Africa
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- Café
Los Negroes POETRY IN MOTION Modern African Dance
Poetry in Motion is proud to present digitized footage of this
edition's featured performers: choreographers Christalyn E.
Wright and Beverley Prentice (both of Urban Bush Women) as well
as New Jersey's Forces of Nature. To download a 30 second clip
of performance footage, click the image. S Also, check out the
The Poetry In Motion Archives: Bill T Jones, Urban Bush Women
& Marlies Yearby
- Ballet
or Modern Dance Oriented Companies
- Alvin
Ailey Dance Theatre
-
- Bill
T Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
"Founded as a multicultural dance company in 1982, Bill T.
Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company is the product of an 11-year
collaboration between Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane. It emerged
onto the international scene in 1982 with the world premiere of Intuitive
Momentum with legendary drummer Max Roach at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music. Extensive touring quickly followed, taking the
company to prestigious houses such as Sadler's Wells in London;
Theater de la Ville in Paris; Zellerbach Theater in Berkley; the
Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C...."
- Cleo
Parker Robinson Dance Theatre
This is a great Denver, Colorado-based company
- Dallas
Black Dance Theatre
Anne Williams founded Dallas Black Dance Theatre in 1976 and is
a founding member of the Dallas Dance Council, The International
Association of Blacks in Dance and The Dallas Morning News Dance
Festival. Dr. Williams received her early training under Barbara
Hollis, a member of the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, Edith
James, Don's Humphrey and Charles Weidman.
- Dance
Theatre of Harlem
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- Dayton
Contemporary Dance Company, Dayton Ohio
The DCDC bills itself as "The oldest modern dance company
in the state of Ohio." The company also describes itself as
having : "the largest the collection of classic modern
dance works created by African American Choreographers in the
world"
- Urban
Bush Women
-
Misc.
Community-based dance venue, companies, classes,
workshops, and more. Covers a range of dance styles and genres.
Dagaramusic.com
Dagaramusic offers on video, a "performance of traditional West African xylophone music and dance,
featuring one of Ghana's top musicians and his best dancers [it]
was
recorded on location beneath the forested hills in the outskirts of
Accra, Ghana's capital city."
- Greennotation
Not a dance site per se, but Greennotation offers an interesting
notational system for African percussive music. Could be a
useful resource to the dance community.
- Motherland
Music -
Based in Boulder and two other cities,
this company specializes in importing high quality authentic
African Musical Instruments
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