62 East 4th Street
(Btw 2nd & 3rd Aves)
New York, NY 10003
MAP & DIRECTIONS
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Ph#212-674-9066
Fax 212-674-9068
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rodrodgers.dance
@verizon.net
West African
with
Mamadou Dahoué
WEST AFRICAN CLASS: African dance is the world’s oldest aerobic exercise and among the most cleansing, strengthening and centering. The recent resurgence of African dance as an exercise discipline comes as no surprise. Evolving theories of optimum fitness state that mind, body and breath should move in rhythm. Busy people seeking to satisfy several objectives at once; find what they’re looking for in a good African dance class.

Master dance Mamadou Dahoué is hailed as a professional who has helped countless students to reach their fitness goals. He shares with participants the energy and unique cultural gifts of African dance in a potent but accessible format. Students quickly come to look forward to his classes as a high point of their schedule: an interlude that is simultaneously grounding and uplifting.
Pic: Open House '03

African dance enthusiasts praise the stress-reducing benefits of Dahoué’s classes. Attendees are taught an effective method of raising their vitality, endurance and confidence. The healthy release of physical and mental tension afforded through African dance is a remedy for our fast-moving and high-pressure times. The drums and primal movements also encourage the expression of unspoken emotion, providing a safe and therapeutic environment for its release. As a result, participants are better equipped to respond spontaneously and creatively to their environment and to confront life’s challenges with peace and clarity.

Hosting Dahoué’s African dance class will allow your institution to provide participants with:

  • An aerobic workout par excellence
  • A proven stress management tool
  • A vehicle for artistic and emotional expression
  • An enjoyable health-building discipline
  • An uplifting cultural and social experience
  • An enriching educational opportunity
Pic: Open House '03
Mamadou Dahoué was born in the northern region of the Ivory Coast in the village of Ségula. He became a member of the National Ballet of Côte d’Ivoire at the age of eighteen. He has performed throughout Africa, Europe and the United States. More significantly, however, Mamadou was born into a historic family of dancers and craftspeople – indeed, it is his family, who is responsible for perpetuating the Zaouly masked dance tradition. In addition to being a highly skilled concert artist, Mr. Dahoué is actually a “Mask”. That means that Mr. Dahoué is spiritually enfranchised through the family heritage to perform highly respected and powerful traditional masked-dance roles, such as Zaouly, Flaly, and Djouanigbê. In addition to his many responsibilities as a Mask, and his illustrious career with the National Ballet of Côte d’Ivoire, Mr. Dahoué also performed for nine years with Rosemarie Guiraud’s Les Guirivoires. Mamadou has served as an adjunct professor at Medgar Evers College. In 1999, Mr. Dahoué was the recipient of the “Agbedidi: African artist-in-residence program with the University of Florida and the New World School of the Arts. Mamadou has also served as artist-in-residence for the Queens Council of the Arts and the Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc. In 2001, Mamadou was the recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship award.
Tra-Bi Lizie, Master Drummer, was born in the northern region of the Ivory Coast in the village of Gohitafla. Born into a family of musicians and craftsmen, his father instructed him at an early age in the art of drumming. At the age of 12, he became the lead drummer for two sacred ritual masks of the Gouro ethnic group, Zamble and Zaouly. Tra-Bi is currently serving as the musical director for the Ancestral Messengers Dance Company as well as teaching drumming techniques at a variety of venues.
Djo-Bi-Djo, Master Drummer, was born in the north-western region of the Ivory Coast, of the Gouro ethnic group. He’s the number one Zaouly mask drummer in the Ivory Coast. Djo-Bi has lived in France for eight years and has made numerous recordings with various music groups. He’s toured West Africa, Europe and the United States with Rosemarie Guiraud’s Les Guirivoires. Djo-Bi serves as lead drummer for the Ancestral Messengers Dance Company.
Sekou Dembele, Master Drummer, was born in Burkina Faso, but raised in the Ivory Coast. He has great musical knowledge of both cultures and has traveled extensively throughout Africa, Europe and the United States with Souleymane Koly’s Koteba Dance Company. He served as the lead drummer in the African opera “Waramba”, performed at Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1999. Sekou serves as lead drummer for the Ancestral Messengers Dance Company.