KanKouran West African Dance Company

HISTORY
KanKouran West African Dance Company was founded for the purpose of contributing to the extension of the arts by introducing the essence of traditional African dancing and drumming to audiences; enriching American cultural heritage through the integration of authentic West African performing arts; and promoting intercultural understanding through education and the performing arts. The Company takes its name from the Mandingo people of Senegal. In Mandingo culture, KanKouran is a guide who assists young boys and girls transition into adulthood.

KanKouran was formed in 1983, in Washington, DC, by Artistic Director Assane Konte and former Director of Music, Abdou Kounta, who grew up together in Dakar, Senegal. After many months of recruiting, training and performing at local venues, the Company presented its first full-length concert, “A Visit to Africa” in 1985. And with that performance, an institution was born. Although many dancers and drummers have come and gone, to this day KanKouran continues under the leadership of its co-founder/Artistic Director, Assane Konte. The Company’s success is perhaps best judged by its longevity and by the large number of company and community members who are involved in diverse academic, professional, and entrepreneurial pursuits, and who credit KanKouran with instilling within them the discipline, pride, and commitment to self and community which have made their life pursuits meaningful as well as successful.

Over the years, KanKouran has established itself as a premier center for the study and performance of traditional West African dancing and drumming and as a communal home for artists and art-lovers throughout the African Diaspora. With members born in the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean, it is home to three performing companies: the Senior, Junior, and Children's groups. Weekly classes for adults and children have been a key component of furthering the Company’s mission and establishing an appreciation for African performing arts in the United States. KanKouran’s annual African dance and drum conferences are among the largest, longest-running gatherings of student- through master-level African dancers and drummers. The Company has also worked extensively to bring African dance and drum to children of all ages via various in-school, after-school, and extra-curricular programs.

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Assane Konte, a national of Senegal, West Africa, is one of the original founders of KanKouran West African Dance Company. He also serves as the company’s Artistic Director, choreographer, and costume designer. Mr. Konte began his dance training at age 12 and has studied with many prominent traditional dancers and musicians from Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, and Senegal. His career as a professional dancer began at age 15 with “Ballet Africaine de Diebel Guee” of Dakar, Senegal. During his ten years with the company, he electrified audiences with his highly energetic performances, while simultaneously developing his own unique movement style. In 1978, following a tour in Cote d’Ivoire where he worked and performed as a guest consultant for a locally-based dance company, Mr. Konte came to the United States to pursue a career as an independent performer. He worked with numerous organizations as a musical arranger and guest choreographer.

Mr. Konte left Africa with the dream of establishing his own dance company in Washington, D.C., the nation’s capitol. Thus, in 1983, along with his childhood friend and master drummer, Abdou Kounta, he founded KanKouran West African Dance Company. Mr. Konte assumed the responsibilities of Artistic Director of the company. Since that time, his lifelong dedication to preserving and sharing Africa’s rich culture through dance and music has made him a goodwill ambassador, promoting cross-cultural appreciation and understanding in the many performance venues in which he and the company have appeared. For his tireless work, innovative choreography, and outstanding contribution to the community, Mr. Konte has been the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Outstanding Community Service Award. His choreography and costume designs have enhanced not only KanKouran’s stage presence, but also that of countless local and national dance companies as well. Through his careful and meticulous choreography, Mr. Konte has taken U.S. based African dance to another level. Simultaneously, he has challenged his company’s dancers and drummers to achieve impressive levels of virtuosity and technical ability. Although Mr. Konte choreographs primarily for his own company, his ingenious creativity and spirit is always in demand at home and abroad. Consequently, he conducts annual programs in Poland, Hawaii, Japan, and St. Croix. Mr. Konte has held faculty positions in the dance departments of several prestigious universities in the Washington, D.C. area including American and George Mason Universities. He presently serves on the faculty at Howard University.

PERFORMANCES
KanKouran’s Senior professional company has performed at thousands of local, national, and international venues. The company's outstanding reputation has spawned numerous alliances/collaborations with organizations and institutions throughout the United States and abroad. These include: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Smithsonian Institution; National Symphony Orchestra; Lincoln Center; Brooklyn Academy of Music; California Center for the Arts; The Imagination Celebration, Colorado Springs, CO; Howard University; Model Secondary School for the Arts at Gallaudet University; American University; George Mason University; University of Pittsburgh; University of Washington, Seattle, WA; The Black Academy of Arts and Letters; Virginia Technical Institute; Silesian Dance Theater and the Dance Festival Krakow in Poland; Maui Dance Council, Hawaii; Japan Cultural Arts Center, Tokyo; the Island Center for the Performing Arts, St. Croix; and most recently at the White House to honor Malaria awareness Day.

REPERTOIRE
KanKouran’s repertoire is a brilliant reflection of the excellence in artistry and performance that is so widely associated with the Company. Over the years, the artistic and musical directors have met the great challenge of adapting traditional African dancing and drumming in a Western performance context; communicating the rich and complex history and culture of West Africa with the technical prowess, energy and grace that entertains and moves audiences everywhere. The overwhelming majority of the dances/rhythms performed are from Senegal, Guinea, Gambia and Mali, with works set to the most prevalent percussion orchestras used in those regions: Djembe, Kutiro, and Sabar. However, KanKouran’s Senior Company has also collaborated on works with countless artists, reflecting the quality of training, depth of talent, and skill of the performers.