2014 is already on the move! And AddLife! is working hard, creating the dance action that will push us to new heights this year and after.

In celebration of 2014, I want to share a bit about my trip to Guinea this past December. Particularly, I want to talk about the people who inspired me, and what I learned.  It is my hope that my Guinea experience encourages you to keep mastering your craft, chasing your life calling, and studying African Dance!

THE TRIP

For three weeks in December, I studied drum and dance intensely with Malinke Grandmaster Djembefola -- Bolokada Conde -- who hails from the Sankaran region of Guinea, and Ibrahima Soumah, director of Guinea's Ballet Soleil D'Afrique. 

[Photo: Me with Bolokada (right) and Paul, a Djembe student from Australia] 

The non-stop Guinea tour deepened by passion for African Dance tremendously, and developed my skills and creative vision!

THE DRUMMING

After 10 years of studying African Dance, I took my first big bite into Malinke Djembe drumming! And good God, the experience was great!

Bolokada expertly guided the group of students and I through Guinea’s most ancient Malinke drum rhythms and songs such as Solafo, Koloni, Fakoli Djembe, Malo, Lamban, and Kassa. With the exception of Kassa and Lamban, these rhythms are never played in classrooms and concerts across America. In fact, they are so rare and embedded in village tradition, it takes an expert Grandmaster like Bolokada to bring these ancient songs to the world. Realizing this, I am forever grateful to have traveled to Guinea with Bolokada. Bolokada spent a significant span of his adulthood living and working as a drummer in the villages, so he is a living library of some of the most obscure yet magnificent Malinke rhythms, songs, and traditions. It wasn't until well into his adulthood that Bolokada joined Les Percussions de Guinée, toured the world, and came to America in 2004, where he has enriched thousands of students with his foremost expertise. 

This is why I’m so happy to be studying with Bolokada. He is the world's foremost harbinger of Malinke village rhythms and folklore, and he is dedicated to perpetuating these hidden village gems, and pushing his students to accurately learn these ancient rhythms. 

[Photo: Bolokada, with the group of students and Guinea drummers I traveled with]

The Malinke rhythms Bolokada taught us are so intricate and beautiful, they would just lift us off the ground as we practiced their layered Djembe accompaniments and Dundun orchestra arrangements. Now, I can’t stress this enough. Bolokada is such an incredible instructor and trip leader. His teachings are brilliantly detailed, organized, and generous -- while his guidance pops with eye-opening historical context and folkloric stories. Learning with him re-awakened me to the genius that is African dance and music!  While I’m a beginner Djembe player, it was awesome to see Bolokada push the advanced drum student Paul, with some of the most lavish solo phrases I’ve ever heard. Sometimes Paul would get totally overwhelmed by the rapture of these solo phrases, but Bolokada would patiently pull Paul through, repeating the drum phrases beat by beat, until Paul caught it! These drum sessions were simply the fire of life! And I can’t wait to continue my drum practice with Bolokada.

LIFE IN THE VILLAGE

What I loved the most about my trip was the tour. Bolokada took us to a total of four Guinea villages: Kissidougou, Morowaya – Bolokada’s hometown -- Manfran, and Faranah – home of the late great Djembe Legend, Fadouba Oulare. Bolokada has family and deep roots in each village, so when we arrived, we were greeted like royalty, with hundreds of children, village elders, women, men, and families gathering to celebrate us. We were surrounded by love, attentive helpers, and beautiful people all day. At night, we joined Bolokada and his drum band as they put on the most spectacular Doundounba parties I’ve ever experienced. Bolokada commanded each Doundounba -- first with a blast of exquisite music selections, then with phenomenal drum solo performances, and with live song in which Bolokada led the entire village in a harmonic vocal celebration. All the while, we’d dance – take turns lunging into the massive solo circle.

THE DANCING

It was during these Doundounbas that I absolutely fell in love with the dancers of Guinea. My favorite dancers in Guinea were Ibrahima Soumah, and Konko and Yanle. Ibrahima Soumah is the director of Guinea’s Ballet Soleil D’Afrique. He also provided the daily dance instruction for the trip. Konko and Yanle are two gorgeous dancers who hail from the rolling hills of Faranah and are kinfolk of Fadouba Oulare.

When these master dancers stepped into the circle, time collapsed and nothing else mattered except the happiness they created in every step. Ibrahima in particular, had a funky, mesmerizing style. A classical Guinea ballet dancer by day-- at night, Ibrahima would remix his Doundounba steps into a shot of crisp spins, peacocking steps, and arms dripping with attitude! Let me tell you, he is the love child of James Brown and Yousouff Koumbassa, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. Meanwhile, Konko and Yanle are perhaps Guinea’s most amazing traditional village dancers. They move like Goddesses. At just 20 and 19, the two girls are close friends, and when they danced in the solo circle, they moved like dragons over a mountain. Konko and Yanle would jump 5 feet in the air, twirl around in non-stop circles, tap and kick their feet in the most complex patterns, then charge Bolokada as he drummed and marked their steps. Confident and aggressive, Konko and Yanle would conduct an entire conversation of technical movement with the drummers. They’d get right up in the drummer’s face and start talking with those dance steps, drawing lines of power with their bodies that flowed like a tidal wave of motion. Every time they danced, all anybody could do was watch and cheer.

Interestingly, many of the village dancers were teenage girls who’d perform a new dance that showed off their hips and behind in this slow grinding movement that mimicked a sensual lap dance! Other times, an old man would tip-toe into the circle and blow everyone’s mind with a few pelvic thrusts and foot cuts that defied his old age.  Then there were the Doundounba men, who would bombard the musical ceremony, some slinging axes. Their dancing was pure might, as they muscled through the traditional Doundounba foot patterns with the effervesce of well-trained dancers.

As we danced and partied together, I learned so much from Ibrahima, Konko, and Yanle. When we weren’t dancing, we were talking about dance, and improvising steps at random -- while walking to the water well, sitting over a camp fire, or hanging laundry. As dancers, we always had a song on our lips, and spoke in drum rhythms. And at every turn, we challenged each other to a dance solo, where we tried to make the other person laugh or fall over with delight. It was interactions like these that really improved my dance style. In Africa, you don’t dance, you are the dance. And as you move through life, you learn to use dance to communicate messages of love, camaraderie, and desire.

GROWING IN GUINEA

As we traveled from village to village, my drumming and dancing grew by leaps and bounds; my knowledge of traditional Guinea culture, as its expressed in art and life, was so much enlightened.

By the end of the trip, I was able to hang with a complex drum solo taught by Sekouba, Fadouba Oulare’s kinfolk in Faranah. By the end of the trip, I had mastered a ton of marvelous choreography Ibrahima Souma taught we dancers. By the end of the trip, I was a better artist and an even better dreamer. For I had been touched in my soul so deeply, and touched many souls in the process. 

Now, I am even more convinced that African Dance is unlimited in its depth and power. 

Now, I am even more certain that it's the courageous people behind this dance that make this practice so truly special and rewarding. 

-- Malena Amusa