Feet on the Ground (most of the time)

Part of my personal mission in coming to Africa was to finally study dance in Guinea, the home of the dance that I have been studying for over ten years. It was a long wait and two weeks there was barely enough to get my feet wet, although in that short time we did an incredible amount of dancing and visiting.
All of my expectations were fulfilled there and the experience went far beyond what I ever imagined. I was able to dance in private classes with an incredible woman dancer named Sali. We had 6 drummers and the most beautiful balaphone player. We danced for a week in the city at my friend Shelly's house, her backyard over looking the Atlantic Ocean. Then a week out in the village, camping on the beach at Fullayah with the same group of artists, Shelly, Noah and I. It was like our own private dance camp with dance twice a day and Noah had drum classes once or twice a day.

Shelly and Sidos' camp in Fulliyah

Our musicians and dance space at the beach



One of our drummers, Seny

Singing under the Stars

Village Chores

Guinea is a much poorer and less developed country than Senegal, which was hard for me to imagine before I got there. I see Dakar through a very different lens since I've returned. It is much more organized, calm and well-off than I thought before I visited Guinea. Although the poverty is striking in Guinea, the people are so incredibly warm and receptive in a gentler way than here in Dakar. Although they have much "less," from a Westerner's perspective, the music and dance is so incredibly rich, that to me, it is worth far more than the comforts of home.

Second to the dance was making new friends and seeing many old ones. During the last few days of our trip, many friends and teachers were arriving in Guinea to study and visit family. Seeing everyone at the doundounba and sabar party that Youssouf gave was so gratifying! It was like being home for a moment, but even better to see all my Guinea teachers for once in their home!

Alseny and Naby (my dance teachers in California) at Youssouf's Sabar Party

Noah dancing at the Sabar

"Multi-tasking"
My dance teacher, Sali

Shelly, Sali, Maya, Fode (#2) Bangoura, Noah

My dance teacher in the States, Moustapha Bangoura

Youssouf Koumbassa-My dance teacher in New York

It is so difficult to put into words the totality of this trip for us, but I know that it touched Noah and I deeply in some simliar and very different ways.It is a difficult transition now being back in Dakar and although my body is here, my heart is still in Guinea.