Kankouran West African Dance Company 40th Anniversary Conference and Concert

KANKOUR A N

WEST AFRICAN DANCE COMPANY

F O R  I M M E D I A T E R E L E A S E July 29, 2023 Contact: Eurica or Ali: (202) 518-1213

WHAT: KanKouran’s 40th Annual Dance and Drum Conference!

Niou Bolo Moye Dolle: The Power of Coming Together (African Dance/World Music)

WHO: KanKouran West African Dance Company

WHEN/WHERE:

Conference Thursday, August 31 - Sunday, September 3, 2023

Conference Site Dance Place (Aug 31) 3225 8th Street, NE, Washington, DC, 20017

Dance Exchange (Sept 1-3) 7117 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912

Concert Saturday, September 2, 2023, 8 pm

Howard University’s Crampton Auditorium

2455 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20059

KANKOURAN’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION KICKS OFF DC’S AFRICAN HERITAGE MONTH!!!! Washington, DC - Internationally renowned KanKouran West African Dance Company celebrates a major milestone- 40 years of sharing the dance and music of West Africa with American audiences with its 40th Annual National African  Dance and Drum Conference: Niou Bolo Moye Dolle: The Power of Coming Together! Thursday, August 31 - Sunday,  September 3, 2023. This Labor Day weekend event also kicks off African Heritage Month in the District of Columbia.

With the calling from the drums, KanKouran’s Annual African dance and drum conference ushers in a NATIONAL CONVERGENCE of West Africa’s finest dancers and musicians. Hundreds of professional artists, dance companies, youth  organizations, and dance/drum enthusiasts come from the United States, Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, and Africa to  partake in four days of dancing and drumming instruction from the best trainers. More than 20 workshop presenters

from the U.S., Senegal, Guinea, Mali, the Congo, and Liberia are set to teach techniques perfected through years of  experience, study, and research. Conference workshops cater to a variety of dance styles and levels. Instructors are prepared to work with beginners as well as advanced participants. Washington's premier end-of-summer fitness  workout promises to help participants feel mentally and physically energized.

This year's concert production, Niou Bolo Moye Dolle, is a celebration of the Power of Coming Together manifested in  the form of a unique artistic and cultural endeavor. Through his meticulous and careful choreography, Assane Konte,  KanKouran’s Artistic Director, will present guest artists from across the U.S. (who’ve been patrons of KanKouran for  decades) in a showcase of pieces he choreographed that demonstrate a spectacular and highly spirited array of  celebratory dances. This coming together, the result of months of artistic collaboration, will also feature KanKouran’s  Senior, Junior, and Children’s Companies and the Adult Community Dance Class. It is expected to be one of the  company's most highly awaited productions in decades.

Founded in 1983, KanKouran is a nonprofit, performing arts organization that has been serving the Washington, D.C.  community and national audiences for more than 40 years.

For more information visit www.kankouran.org