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 "A bolt of joy from Africa…They supply enough energy to light up a city."
New York Daily News
"Sensational…They've got the power"
The Stage - United Kingdom
"It was no surprise that Les Ballets Africains was greeted with a standing ovation at the end of the performance."
The New York Times
"…dazzling, high speed footwork. The members of Les Ballets Africains look fabulous."
The Los Angeles Times
"Spectacular magnificent drummers power the dancers' inexhaustible vitality…Electrifying professionalism and vibrant, colourful, tirelessly energetic."
The Observer - United Kingdom
"It has everything to amaze: acrobatics, symmetry, exotic costumes, and an extraordinary energy"
Midi Libre - France
"Beautiful music, beautiful costumes, beautiful people. Who could ask for anything more?"
The News - United Kingdom
"The boundless energy of the dance, the brilliant complexity of the drumming, the breathtaking speed and skill of the acrobatics and the powerfully human quality of the drama makes Les Ballets Africains one of the really great theatre companies of the world."
Caribbean Times - United Kingdom
"The audience claps, cheers and whoops wildly. It is one of those infectious evenings."
The Sunday Correspondent - United Kingdom
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February 6, 2007
The Repulican - Massachusetts
by Ken Ross
Forget Charles Dickens. If you want a spell-binding story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, check out Les Ballets Africains.
“It isn’t a concert,” said Tim Speechley, production manager for he group which serves as the national dance company for the Republic of Guinea. “It’s really more a piece of theater.”
“They tell a story,” Speechley added. “They don’t just put on a show.”
But what a show!
Three years ago, the African dance company performed a dazzling, fast-paced show at the Calvin Theatre. The show featured some of the company’s best dances in celebration of their 50th anniversary. Tomorrow’s show at the Calvin will also include several of the company’s older works. But the highlight of this tour is “Mandinka Memories,” the company’s first new production in three years.
Speechley saw a rehearsal of the hour-long piece in late December in Conakry, the capital of Guinea. Created by the group’s artistic director Hamidou Bangoura, “Mandinka Memories” tells the story of a 13th-century ‘Warrior king Soundiata Keita and how he came to power. Keita was actually born disabled and unable to walk.
According to Speechley, much of the first half of the piece consists of large ensemble dances and songs that bring about the miracle cure of Keita. This is followed by spectacular celebration routines featuring many costumes of various African animals. Later, here is a reenactment dance of the battle of Kirrina, which took place in 1235. In this battle, Keita defeats his enemy, the tyrant king Sumaoro Kante.
It’s very high energy,” Speechley said, describing the piece. “It’s classic Guinea style.”
Classic Guinea style includes having all the musicians sit on the right side of the stage. The dancing is also “really very, very fast and vibrant.” Speechley said.
Les Ballets Africains dances also have a distinct style. “There is a fusion of modern stuff in here but it is mainly traditional,” he said.
One reason for the group’s consistent style is the continuity within the company. Many of the 33 dancers, some of whom are in their 60s, have belonged to the group for years.
But the group does not live in the past. Recently, 10 new dancers, some as young as 19 rears old, joined the company, Speechley said.
Auditions were held in villages throughout the Republic of Guinea to find the young, new dancers, who recently embarked on a tour around the United States. Sounds a bit like “African Idol.” Or like something straight out of “Great Expectations” or another page-turning Dickensian novel.
August 6, 2004
Vail Daily, Colorado
By Andrew Harley
At a club, on an album, from a circle in town square, you can hear the beats of a drum. With a masterful touch, a drum can sound like more than the thunderous barrage of a barbaric yawp. Drums take turns as melody makers and narrators, as Les Bal1ets Africains puts on two shows on Sunday at the Ford Amphitheater in Vail.
The tradition was born in Guinea in 1952, combining African rhythms and instruments with dance, storytelling and acrobatics.
“By the time this show finishes, you can bring the cable wire to the stage. It will light up the city” said Les Ballets Africains Managing Director Mamoudou Conde. “The dance level has unbelievable power that is indescribable. The acrobats have the message for younger generation that all our cultures are connected.”
There are 35 members in the entire company for Les Ballets Africains, though only 18 members are on the current tour. Among the 18 touring members, there are six female performers and 12 males.
“We have two very powerful male acrobats. The females drum, they dance and they sing,” said Conde. “You have a Kora, which is a 21-string instrument, that will be (played) by these beautiful African women with an unbelievable grand boubou (a traditional garment). The dresses are colorful and you will never see (them) anywhere else. Nobody will be able to resist that particular scene.”
A Brief History
In the midst of a fight against colonialism in 1952, poet and choreographer Keita Fodeba’s assemblage of an African ballet ripened in the Republic of Guinea.
“Les Ballets Africains is an icon in the continent of Africa. This company not only represents Guinea, but the entire continent,” said Conde.
Fodeba arrived in Paris in 1948 as a choreographer and witnessed a misinterpretation of Africa in France.
He was really disappointed. He saw hat Africa was judged by certain people negatively. He believed that he was born in a very powerful place with very powerful people and very beautiful rhythm and music,” said Conde.
Fodeba chose to gather a grand ballet full of the finest dancers and musicians from many countries in Africa, including the Congo, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal and Chad.
“When you see someone putting you down, you don’t fight physically. You decide to create something that can speak for itself,” said Conde. “Through his choreography, rhythm, dancing, drumming and the storytelling, he told the story about the positives of Africa without it coming from his own mouth.”
Fodeba trained the students for nearly four years. By 1952, the company was performing.
“The first show in Paris was very powerful, very well-received. It gave people a better understanding about Africa,” said Conde. From that point he gained support from certain people to be able to take is great culture and travel.”
Based on Guinean tradition, the griot is the storyteller.
“They can create a music and rhythm, which you can see a storyline and understand without reading,” said Conde. “The major griot (performs for) the king and stops any problem that will come to the kingdom.”
In the case of Les Ballets Africains, the griot told his stories through artistic choreography.
“In each society, you have a special griot that belongs to that society. It’s more like a messenger. It’s more like a storyteller. It’s more like a peacemaker,” said Conde.
THE DRUMS
There are many different drums in Guinean tradition. Some are more common in the Rocky Mountain music scene, like the djembe and doundoun, which is the bass foundation.
‘The djembe is the lead. The entire show is led by the lead drummer,” said Conde. “Between the doundoun and the djembe you have three djembes for accompaniment, you have a kenkeni to help to harmonize the music and you also lave a two other sangbans to support the drumming – to make it very powerful and to drive the drumming forward.”
The balaphone, which originates from the kingdom of Soso, is a powerful wooden instrument with 21 or 23 keys played with two mallets.
“Together, this instrument and a Costa Rican instrument called the bote create a lot of energy,” said Conde.
The company also uses one or two krins, which a melodic instrument of hollowed wood with many small openings.
“Sangban comes in many different sizes. We put the women on that particular drum,” said Conde. “If you listen to jazz music, in the drumming you can find many different rhythms. You can find the blues, jazz and the reggae.” African rhythms are the foundation of all modern music and Les Ballets Africains takes you to the source.
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