In-Person Master Workshop
$20
Start the New Year off on Fiya with Master Guinean teacher and dancer Youssouf Koumbassa!!
Join us in welcoming Youssouf for this surprise visit and get 2023 off to a body moving, soul string start. He’s on his way back to Guinea and we won’t see him till the summer months so be sure you don’t miss the opportunity to learn the playful, strong and seductive dances of Guinea! Youssouf Koumbassa founded the dance companies Les Ballets Bagat and Children of Bagata, and performed internationally with the National Ballet of Guinea for 13 years. He is visiting NYC for a short time; catch him while you can!
Youssouf Koumbassa
Perhaps the world's most sought-after teacher of Guinea-style African dance, Youssouf was born in Conakry, Guinea. He was a principle dancer with Ballets Djoliba, one of Guinea's most important national dance companies, for 13 years, training and touring extensively throughout the world. With his prodigious skill and thrilling talent, as well as the precious pedagogy and choreography of his teachers before him, Youssouf relocated to the United States to share his passion and his legacy with dancers and audiences everywhere.
In his 13 years with the Ballet National under the tutelage of Sekouba Camara, the Artistic director of Ballet National Djoliba, and with Kemoko Sano, the acclaimed Artistic Director of Les Ballets Africains, Youssouf traveled extensively throughout West Africa, Japan, Bangladesh, India, Holland, Hungary, Russia, Korea, Libya, Saudi Arabia and the United States. Since moving to the United States 22 years ago, Youssouf has established himself as the pre-eminent teacher of dance from Guinea. He now travels throughout the world as a much sought after master teacher at dance conferences, workshops, camps and schools connecting with students who are appreciative of his mercurial energy and grace.
In the 1990s, Youssouf formed Les Ballets Bagata, comprised of 60 dancers and drummers performing spectacular mélanges of traditional culture and dance theater. Children of Bagata, a company he formed later, consisted of 15 young dancers and musicians. Youssouf's mission has been and continues to be sharing the rich and varied cultures of Guinea with audiences around the world. In his attempts to bring the energy, excitement and history of African dance to a wide audience, Youssouf is meticulous in acknowledging the source of this material and insists on a high level of understanding and respect for the form among his students. He travels to Guinea regularly, taking students on dance trips, then returns to the United States with the latest developments in contemporary dance. Learn more at www.westafricandance.com.