Mbalax is a genre of popular Senegalese music that blends the rhythms of sabar drums with pop, jazz, and R&B influences. It can be seen on stage in performances by top artists like Youssou N’Dour, Thione Seck, and Alioune M’Baye Nder and Viviane Chidid, and it’s often danced at parties and clubs. In this high-energy class, we'll focus on the basics of sabar dance using mbalax music.
Class starts with a dynamic warm-up that incorporates stretching, yoga and gentle movement to loosen the body. It continues with a breakdown of the combination of the day, giving careful attention to the details of the technique and finding the musicality – connecting to the nuances in the music. Learning sabar dance with mbalax makes this class particularly good for beginners – the rhythm is easier to follow and students can use the recording to practice at home. And, as with any traditional sabar class, dancing to this rhythmically-rich music is a great cardio workout that also lifts your spirits!
Darnetha Lincoln M’Baye After training in modern and jazz dance, Darnetha shifted focus to African dance in 1995. Since then, she has studied and performed traditional dances from Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Senegal with multiple companies, including Sing Sing Rhythms. Darnetha renewed her connection to modern dance in 2005, creating her first commissioned work for Long Island University - C.W. Post. In the next decade, she created seven more pieces for LIU and spent a semester teaching contemporary and African dance classes. In 2009, Darnetha founded Roots In Revolution, an all-female contemporary dance company whose work blended modern and African movement and concepts. RIR performed at multiple festivals and events around NYC until 2016. Darnetha has continued to teach both contemporary and sabar dance at studios around New York.
