Pape N'Diaye

Sabar Senegalese Dance

A multi-talented artist from Dakar, Senegal, Alioune “Pape” N’Diaye (www.papendiaye.com) is a seasoned performer (song, dance, and percussion), instructor, and choreographer in Djembe, Kutiro, Sabar, Modern, and African contemporary dance forms. He has been a member of numerous acclaimed Senegalese traditional and contemporary dance companies, including the National Ballet of Senegal, Cinquihme Dimension, Ballet Sinomew, Forêt Sacrée, and Manhattan Dance School. Pape N’Diaye is also a former lead dancer for Jant-Bi where he choreographed pieces for the award winning FAGAALA, Jant-Bi’s most recently toured production. In the United States he has choreographed and performed with the Kinodance Company, Maimouna Keita School of African Dance, and the Harvard University Pan-African Dance and Music Ensemble, to name a few. He is the lead singer and founder of the Mbalax Music Band, Doomou Africa, and the director of the recently acclaimed African Dance Company, Les Enfants du Soleil – African Dance Theater. This company is made up of dynamic artists and musicians from various West African countries and the United States. In addition to singing and directing Les Enfants du Soleil – African Dance Theater, Pape N’Diaye is the founder of the Ndaje School of African Arts, Inc. which hosts the Annual Ndaje Festival of African Music and Dance, the largest African dance and drum celebration in Boston! Pape currently teaches a weekly beginning African Dance class at the Dance Complex in Cambridge, MA.

CLASS DESCRIPTION

Sabar, the national dance of Senegal , is an energetic and beautiful traditional dance form, named after the family of drums that play its vivacious rhythms. In this class you will learn the fundamentals of Sabar dance, starting with basic movements, then progressing to a repertory of choreographed dance steps. Also accompanied by live sabar drumming, this class will help you understand how the dance and drum rhythms are closely intertwined. In addition to fine-tuning your sabar technique, you will learn the latest sabar moves and be inspired by the energy that Pape N’Diaye brings to every class!

Clothing: Clothing should be loose. Women may wear a lapa (cloth wrapped around the hips) but it is not required, bare feet.