Come spend 4-days in beautiful Oakland, CA with Diamano Coura West African Dance Company as it hosts its 12th annual “Collage des Cultures Africaines” Festival. The 4-day series includes two nights of different performances with 22 international guest dance and drum artists, locally acclaimed dance companies, 20 dance and drum workshops with international artists, and other community activities from March 8 to 11 at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts. This unique collaboration includes the professional performing companies of Dimensions Dance Theater, Te Mana Ote Ra – Polynesian Islands, Diamano Coura West African Dance Company, direct from Peru-Lalo Izquierdo, Ladzekpo Brothers and The African Music and Dance Ensemble from Ghana, and more. Diamano Coura has invited30 internationally renowned professional musicians, dancers, folklorists, and acrobats from throughout the African Diaspora for a rare appearance. From Liberia, America, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Congo, and more, these special guest artists and teachers of African songs, rhythm, and dance include Moshe Milon Sr., Moshe Milon Jr., Baba Yagbe, CK and Betty Ladzekpo from Ghana, Mr. Assane Konte, Medoune “Dam” Gueye, Mareme Faye, Mariama Basse, Malong Bayo, Aziz Faye, N’Deye Gueye from Senegal, Youssouf Koumbassa, Maimouna Camara, Mariatou Camara, Alaseny Soumah, Fodey Seydou from Guinea, Nimely Napla, Karsumo Massaquoi from Liberia, Portsha Jefferson from Haiti, Andre Patrice Louvouezo, Jean Armel Mampouya, M’Bay Louvouezo, Mabeba from the Congo and others to be announced.
These exceptional performing artists will explode on Friday, March 9 at 8pm in epic tales, combining live African music, dance, and theatre, to honor the great contributions of Papa Abdoulaye Camara of The National Dance Company of Senegal and Papa Kemoko Sano of Les Ballet Africaines of Guinea have made to African folklore in the United States, Africa, and the world. Performance will include artists from the National companies of Senegal and Guinea.
The African extravaganza continues with an entirely different show on Saturday, March 10 featuring works by local and international artists. The doors at the Malonga open at 6pm for the famous annual African Marketplace with crafts and food and the dance performance starts at 8pm.
Collage des Cultures Africaines means a collection of cultured people representing African countries for a first time cross-cultural art experience.
Diamano Coura West African Dance Company, founded in 1975 by Emmy Award winner Dr. Zakarya Diouf and Artistic Director, choreographer and performer Naomi Diouf, is a not-for-profit cultural organization dedicated to the preservation and appreciation of traditional West African music, dance, theater and folklore. Diamano Coura in the Senegalese language Wolof means “those who bring the message”.
The company is supported in part by The City of Oakland’s Cultural Funding Program, City Council, Arts Commission, and Parks and Recreation Department, California Alliance for Traditional Arts (ACTA), Zellerbach Family Fund, The San Francisco Foundation, Fund for Folk Culture, Marcus Bookstore, Africa by the Bay, Malonga Center for the Arts, and Malonga Arts Collective.