St. Louis/ December 1 --

Addlife!'s 'Masters of Africa!' Mega Drum & Dance Workshop Festival --with visiting grand master drummer Bolokada Conde from Guinea -- was a blow-out success. 

 PHOTO by Shaye Smith. / Djibril Camara, a Baga grand master dancer from Guinea, teaches AddLife!'s 100 Dancers Unite Liberte!

It was Bolokada Conde's first time St. Louis -- and he taught two exquisite drum workshops, helping beginners discover the Djembe technique and advanced students, communicate the rhythm with pure precision. 

The event’s 100 Dancers Unite class led by visiting dancer Djibril Camara from Guinea topped the night with a lavish lesson in dozens of beautiful African dance choreographics. Dancer and AddLife! Studio founder Malena Amusa teamed up with Camara for the non-stop 3-hour class that inspired stellar performances from all students.

The event united more than 150 African drummers and dancers from across St. Louis, Alton, Kansas City, East St. Louis, Chicago, and Champaign, Illinois, inaugurating new relationships and opportunity for bigger events.

 "The happiness in the room was palpable," said event co- producer and founder of AddLife! Studio, Malena Amusa. "It was like the entire world had come to drum and dance! I want to personally thank our visiting artists for their time and energy. Lets keep dreaming bigger than big to create an unparalleled international force of drummers and dancers, performers and leaders!"

The workshop festival took place December 1, 2011 at 2720 Cherokee St. Performing Arts Center.

PHOTO by Shaye Smith. / Legendary drum instructor and performer Bolokada Conde--  grand master of the Malinke Rhythms of Guinea--  radiates his joy during his two mega drum workshops in St. Louis, December 1.

Moussa Bolokada Conde

Bolokada is a master drummer from Kissidougou,Guinea, expert of Malinke rhythms, and one of the world's foremost djembefolas. He joined the Les Percussions de Guinée to replace the legendary Noumoudy Keïta as their lead drummer. He has traveled and performed in major venues all over the world since 1996 and was featured in the IMAX movie PULSE: a Stomp Odyssey. Since 2004, he has been performing and teaching in the United States. He has conducted percussion workshops in many cities in the US and Europe. He has released two musical CD's, Morowaya and Sankaran. He stars in the DVD M'bemba Fakoli: A Musical Journey Through Guinea and has released the djembe instructional DVD M'bara. He is the subject of an upcoming documentary, Bolokada Conde—Malinke Village Djembefola. He was awarded immigrant status with extraordinary ability in the arts in 2007. He is also the musical director and lead soloist of Ballet Waraba in North Carolina, Ballet Wassa-Wassa in Santa Cruz, California, and Les Percussion Malinke in the San Francisco Bay area.

Djibril Camara

Djibril Camara is from the Baga people, originally from Boke, Guinea in West Africa. He spent his childhood dancing and began his formal training at the National School in Guinea’s capital, Conakry. Djibril was a principal dancer and choreographer for the international touring company Ballet du Afrique Noir of Senegal, as well as Troupe Federale Conakry and Ballet Bougarabou for 17 years, traversing Europe and Africa. Eventually his talent brought him to the U.S. for Ballet du Afrique’s presentation of the Mandika Epic on notable stages such as New York City’s Kennedy Center. For the last ten years he has shared the love of his culture and high energy traditional dance across the U.S., choreographing, teaching, and performing.

& one friggin delighted organizer and dancer: Malena Amusa

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Malena Amusa is the daughter of a Nigerian community organizer and an African American nurse. For the past 10 years, she has traveled to Senegal, South Africa, India, and across America to report the news, train in African dance and music, and start two dance companies at Northwestern University and Columbia University in New York City where she gained her master’s in journalism. An international dancer, reporter, and founder of AddLife! Studio, Malena Amusa believes dance is a powerful form of journalism and education. And she is dedicated to bringing daring tales of legendary people to stage through African dance musicals that inspire and entertain. In her lively African dance workshops, Malena combines a sensational movement vocabulary with daring messages and interactive exercises to help people assert their intellect, creativity, and personality. She has had the delight of studying with such greats as Moustapha Bangoura, Habib Iddrisu, Funmilayo, DeBorah Ahmed, Mama Safia, Tiffany Scott, Sandella Malloy, Diadie Bathily, and Aida of Senegal.

In just a few months, we successfully taught more than 100 students – adults and children – and made some good friends along the way.

 

 

>> There was the 72-year-old Chinese woman who had more pep in her step than many people a quarter of her age.

 

>> There was the mother-of-three who took a breather from parenting to put her focus into steps which she performed marvelously.

 

>> There were eager children, a few shy beginners, some athletic teens, many hard-working moms and bright-eyed retirees. 

 

And together, we endeavored to push ourselves to new heights -- all the while journeying to Africa!

 

This past Thursday at the Jamestown Bluffs Library, I integrated drama and acting into our dance lesson. So basically, I asked the students to not only dance, but act-out a scene about losing something important and trying to reclaim it.

 

After we took turns solo dancing and performing together, a very astute young man, a 7th-grader in the class, said: “Now you have to offer your dance to the Gods, but they are not easily impressed!”

 

The class cracked up!

 

 

As AddLife! grows – and aspires to reach millions – I am honored to work with students and the Libraries dedicated to human development.

 

 

The opportunity to teach such a diverse range of terrific people is a big blessing and has made me a more gifted teacher, dancer, and director of AddLife!

 

I will forever cherish this experience and I look forward to all the future has to offer.

 

Thank you!!

 

Malena Amusa

My mission is to fearlessly provoke your success by helping you soar and exercise your great gifts.

With each spin, flap of the arm, and tremble of our torso, African dance brings us to life-- and into orbit of the sheer power, beauty, and energy that our bodies and spirits harness wonderfully. 

While difficult, African dance is brilliantly doable and that’s why I’m dedicated to sharing the dance form with anyone seeking superior movement and a total ignition of thought, action, and excellent execution. 

AddLife! African Dance is a rare workshop experience combining some of the most magnificent movements of West Africa and my high dose of fun, technical instruction, and explosive creative artistry. Inside my class, magic is born and so are friendships and lifelong passions. 

Through African Dance, you literally learn to fly and I challenge you to bring your unique personality to every move that you make. Each of us has a different, powerful story and I want yours to speak!

As a result, my classes are totally integrated into the human process -- from the very conception of an impulse in your spirit, to its fierce expression and impact. 

As you can see, African dance is a calling and one of my life’s great privileges and honors! 

In each dancer, I see a heart bursting to unleash the confidence, intelligence, and potential stored in greater value than all of the earth’s riches.  

Now, I simply can’t wait for you to join me on this journey of taking our talents to the next level.

This is more than movement -- this is a movement!

For class, I advice wearing loose-fitted clothes, bare feet, and of course, your dazzling smile!