BRATTLEBORO-After an 11-year hiatus from teaching in Brattleboro, master Senegalese dancer and teacher Caro Diallo is back in town. Diallo taught his style of African dance for 10 years and was the central teacher of the Abene Festival prior to 2014 in Brattleboro.
Diallo is teaching dance every Sunday evening until Oct. 5 at Inner Heat Yoga, 464 Putney Rd., from 5:15 to 6:45 p.m. Classes are accompanied by live drumming with Ult Mundane and friends. Mundane teaches a drum class following the dance class from 7 to 8 p.m. All levels are welcome to both classes.
Diallo has been dancing his whole life, having grown up in a lush region of Senegal on the west coast of Africa. After intensive training with various dance masters in Dakar, Diallo joined the ballet troupe Forêt Sacrée, performing throughout West Africa. He has gone on to become the director, choreographer, and lead dancer of the Senegalese dance troupe Black Soofa, performing throughout the world, including in West Africa, the United States, and Europe.
"He has the gift of inspiring his students and captivating them with his energy and with the finesse and gracefulness of his dancing," wrote organizers in a news release. "In a warm-up that his students rave about, he provides an entire vocabulary of African movements." He then builds up, phrase by phrase, until one grasps the entire choreography. With live drumming, organizers say, "this experience is one of coming together in joy, in community."
Mundane has been studying traditional West African drumming for more than 20 years, playing djembe and dunduns. He has learned from world-renowned teachers such as Famoudou Konaté and Mamady Keïta. Since 2010, he has been studying with Guinean master drummer Namory Keita. Ult currently teaches a weekly class in Temple, New Hampshire, and leads the drumming for a weekly dance class in Keene, New Hampshire.
The cost of the dance class is $20 to $25, sliding scale, and the cost of the drum class is $15. Drums may be borrowed by contacting Ult at [email protected]. Payment with cash, Venmo, or credit card is accepted at the beginning of the classes.
For more information, call Lauren at 802-579-2233 or email [email protected].
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.