African

Diene "Waaw Waaw" Sagna grew up in Senegal and founded his own dance company Yaye Dib Dance there in 2008. Diene Sagna is considered a master of Sabar dance and has worked with artists such as Baaba Maal, Youssou N`Dour, Mory Kanté and Coumba Gawlo Seck. He has also been organising regular dance workshops in Senegal since 2011, which are aimed at an international audience. Diene is recognised for his friendly and motivating as well as challenging way of teaching. His classes are welcoming to everyone. For him as a teacher and artist, the tanzhaus nrw is an important place of encounter: "For me, the tanzhaus nrw is like a big family where everyone believes in one thing - dance." With dedication, Diene, who now lives in Bonn, devotes himself to promoting West African art and culture. Performances, courses, workshops and other events have taken him to 40 countries so far.

From Equatorial Guinea, Nessa Ndong found her passion for dance upon moving to Spain at the age of 13. With training in Barcelona in Contemporary, hip hop, and Afro, she has become a versatile dancer and teacher. In 2015, she spent 3 months in LA, training at renowned institutions like Millennium Dance Complex. Specializing in Afro dance, she has since trained and taught in Barcelona, Madrid, London, Manchester, New Delhi, Frankfurt, and many more cities. Now based in Manchester, Nessa is a key member of the Afrocats team, Footlights Academy, and Shey Dance Academy while running her own Afro dance classes. "My goal is for everyone to recognize the value of African dance and achieve that special unity in my classes".

Oboja Adu is a dancer, choreographer, musician and DJ from Ghana. As Ghanaian National Dance Champion, he first represented his country at the “Concord Malibu Worlddance Championship”. He won one of the most coveted awards for dancers in West Africa with his group Five Shining Stars in 1989. Since 1994, Oboja has been teaching at tanzhaus nrw. Additionally, he is a music producer as well as chairman and founder of the “ENIJE for Africa” association that holds the annual Düsseldorf “Africa Days”.

Paul Damiano is a passionate dancer and choreographer from Nairobi, Kenya. He has been inspiring audiences with his dance art since 2012. In recent years his artistic path has taken him to Germany. Here he persistently pursues his goal of gaining international experience as a dancer and bringing his artistic vision to life. Paul Damiano specializes in the expressive forms of Afrohouse and Krump, captivating audiences with his strong presence and impressive personality. As an experienced professional dancer, he has demonstrated his skills not only in Germany, but also in Kenya, Poland and the Philippines. There he taught various Afrohouse workshops. In addition, he has represented the Afrohouse and Krump style at various battles, and thanks to his unique expertise he has already judged several dance battles, including the Bar Battle at Theater Oberhausen. In various renowned dance schools, including the JC Academy in Düsseldorf, Line Up in Cologne and Urban Art Compley in Wuppertal, Paul has not only inspired numerous students, but also gained valuable experience in the art of teaching. Last year he represented his dance style Afrohouse with expression and passion at Redbull Dance Your Style in Munich as an invited dancer.