Abdoulaye is announcing this 2013 trip to Guinea will be January 6-20, 2013. This exciting cultural immersion program will have you dancing and/or drumming daily with personalized instruction, enjoying the beauty of the beautiful fishing village in Boffa, swimming in secluded coves on the tropical island of Fotoba (Abdoulaye’s birthplace) and relaxing on the beautiful beach in Bel Air. Watch ballet rehearsals, check out local clubs, shop in the market place. Experience the vital role traditional music and dance still play in daily life. Make new friends. Learn some Susu. Delicious cuisine will be prepared by members of Abdoulaye’s family. Learn more at http://oneworldartsexchange.com/trips-and-tours/ .
This Saturday, May 12, there are THREE chances to catch Message From Guinea. They are playing two family concerts at Town Hall in downtown Seattle, at 11:00 and at 1:00. At 6:00 pm they will be playing at the Spirit of West Africa Festival at Center House at Seattle Center.
The World Rhythm Festival (WRF), a FREE weekend of dance and drum classes and performances from different cultures around the globe, sponsored by the Seattle World Percussion Society, is happening at Seattle Center from Friday, April 27- Sunday, April 29. Abdoulaye will be teaching Doundoun (Sengbe) Dance on Sunday from 12:15-1:15, immediately followed by a regular African Dance class from 1:30 to 2:30 pm. A host of fabulous artists are donating their time and talent to this community event. Full Schedule Details.
THERE WILL BE NO DANCE CLASS AT SHIFT ON FRIDAY, APRIL 27.
Women’s Enterprises International (WEI) is holding a Walk for Water at Seward Park on Sunday, May 6th at 1:30 pm to raise $30,000 to purchase water tanks for 20 homesteads in rural Kenya. Each of these 20 tanks will be matched with 20 more, funded by the village women’s groups. These 10,000 liter tanks provide a reliable supply of CLEAN water for a family from one rainy season to the next.
Come join Abdoulaye, Message From Guinea, and other drum and dance students to welcome the walkers from 2:30-3:30 by the playground near the park entrance. Everyone is welcome.
The wait is over! Abdoulaye will be coming out with a dance instruction DVD later this spring. You can watch a preview below or by visiting Abdoulaye’s youtube page. The DVD includes a warm-up and cool down, and features step-by step instruction and at speed dancing of:
Mamayah
Manńe
Tomaka/Liberté
Konkoba
Gounbe/Touba
You can save $5 if you advance order now via Paypal by sending $29.95 (including shipping/handling) to sylla-fotoba@danceanddrum.com. Be sure to include your shipping address with your order.
We thank for their generous support of this project.
Those of you in the Northeast who are missing Abdoulaye have multiple chances to take class with him or see him perform this April.
He will be teaching and performing at Maimouna Keita’s 20th anniversary conference at Baruch College and Concert at Hunter College April 5th -8th in NYC. For the full schedule of incredible artists and other conference details, check out http://www.maimounakeita.com/.
After the conference he will be swinging through Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine.
Join Abdoulaye at beautiful Camp Fareta in California Sierra mountains. Camp is July 8-14. There will be a fabulous lineupof artists from Guinea, Mali, and Senegal, including Youssouf Koumbassa. For more information check out: http://www.dancingvillage.com/camp_fareta.php . To see a Youtube video of camp, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h32k91M4Rk . The video includes clips of Abdoulaye teaching.
Come join us at SHIFT, 3517 Stone Way N., Seattle, any Friday night for a fun African Dance class that is good for your mind, good for your spirit, and good for your body. We are having class every Friday in December. Live drumming. Come join our community. $15 adults; $10 children.
