Trommler und Tänzer aus Afrika in einem Unterrichtsstudio.

African Dance Styles

Traditional African dance as taught today in Europe mostly originated in sub-Saharan Africa and features a close connection to live percussion. The African continent with its 53 countries possesses a rich and varied dance repertoire that is deeply rooted in the everyday awareness of people – in close communion with music and singing. At tanzhaus nrw, the concentration lies on teaching the sabra, a dance and drumming tradition from West African Senegal and Gambia and of the native Wolof tribe. Sabar is a courting dance that was once exclusively performed by women.
Sabar is marked by its polycentric structure in both dance and music, a rich dynamism, fascinating energy and an evident pure joy of life.

Instructors

Carlinhos Batá

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Carlinhos Batá, born ins São Paulo, started his dancing career with the company Batá Koto. Since 1999, he lives and works as an artist in Europe. Together with Marcelo Nascimento and Sergio Saira, he brought the much vaunted Brazilian way of life and the sambo boom to Düsseldorf. In 2009, he finished his dance pedagogy training at the German Institute for Dance Pedagogy (DIT) and also completed a degree in dance culture V.I.E.W. (mediation, staging, evaluation and knowledge) at the Sporthochschule Cologne. Since then, he has been involved in numerous projects at schools and cultural institutions conceptually as well as in the implementation with a focus on inclusion. Carlinhos teaching is in high demand, as his classes are characterized by his great dedication for the dance and music of Brazil.

Diene 'Waaw Waaw' Sagna

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Diene Waaw Waaw Sagna ist im Senegal aufgewachsen und gründete dort 2008 auch seine eigene Tanzkompanie Yaye Dib Dance. Diene Sagna gilt als Meister des Sabar-Tanzes und arbeitete u.a. mit Künstler*innen wie Baaba Maal, Youssou N`Dour, und Mory Kanté und Coumba Gawlo Seck zusammen. Zudem organisiert er seit 2011 regelmäßig Tanzworkshops im Senegal, die sich an ein internationales Publikum wenden. Diene wird für seine sowohl freundliche und motivierende als auch herausfordernde Unterrichtsweise geschätzt. Sein Unterricht heißt jede*n willkommen. Für ihn als Dozent und Künstler ist das tanzhaus nrw ein wichtiger Ort der Begegnung: „Das tanzhaus nrw ist für mich wie eine große Familie, in der alle an eine Sache glauben – den Tanz.“ Mit Hingabe widmet sich Diene, der heute in Bonn lebt, der Förderung westafrikanischer Kunst und Kultur. Aufführungen, Kurse, Workshops und andere Veranstaltungen führten ihn bisher in 40 Länder.

Oboja Adu

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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”.