BALLETS AFRICAINS de GUINE The National Dance Company of Guinea, West Africa KEMOKO SANO choreo

Many dance companies have copied the name, but THIS IS THE ORIGINAL. Founded in Paris during the Colonial era, flowered during the period of African Independence, and still going strong, today... This show was recorded in 1990, and the late, great KEMOKO SANO was their choreographer, at that time. You can see him playing the krin (log drum), front and center. He comes out from behind the instrument at 3:10-3:15... Kemoko Sano trained some of the finest Guinean artists of the generation that came of age after Guinean Independence in 1958. These include Mamady Keita, as well as the director and most of the original members of Percussions de Guinée. For almost five decades, “Sano“ directed large music and dance ensembles from Guinea in regional, national, and international venues beginning with the Prefectural troop of Macenta in 1960, the ballet National Djoliba from 1973 to 1986 and Merveilles d'Afrique, which he founded in 1986. In 1986, Sano became the choreographer of