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Light
This man's movements were as vibrant and dynamic as the clothes he wore.
A man who lived with dance came from a country poorer than mine.
As I danced behind him, I realized how stoic my movements were.
Something is awakened.
My breathing becomes that of an animal
I am slipping between the borders of civilization and something primal.
As hard as the sweat tries to cool my face, I feel a burning energy
as the drums beckon the spirits to appear.
It’s as though my inner animals are trying to shatter the castle walls I have built
upon the foundations of manners, modesty, sobriety, and withdrawal from socialization.
They had never fought so desperately as when I was trying to mimic his movements.
This man of light is trying to help me find the happiness I had tucked away years ago,
fearing ridicule from peers. There was no need to be ridiculed.
No one is here to judge me.
No reason to be embarrassed.
Landmark helped me find confidence, a friend helped me find courage,
but this man gave me the one thing this society and my religion
gave me barely a microgram of.
This man was giving us the gift of joy.
Dancing
Caro
Diallo teaches
traditional dances of West Africa, in djembe and sabar rhythms, accompanied
by experienced drummers and dancers from his company, Black
Soofa. The dances taught, each in a choreography of Caro’s
creation, vary from year to year.
Caro teaches two
two-hour classes daily, one in the morning and the second in the late
afternoon. Classes take place in the sandy arena in the camp or on the
beach. Beginners, as well as more advanced students, are welcome. All
levels are accommodated.
See the Dance
Camp photo gallery.
Drumming
Experienced Black Soofa drummers teach a
two-hour drum class each weekday. Rhythm, the Senegalese leader Leopold
Sedar Senghor once noted, is “the architecture of the being, the
dynamism that gives one form, the rhythm of the waves one emits towards
others, the expression of vital force.”
Workshop Location
Abene (meaning “place where good will be encountered”) is
a small village in the Casamance region in the south of Senegal. In Caro’s
camp, just a five minute walk from a beautiful beach, guests live in pretty
round huts. All rooms have either two single beds or one double bed. African
cooks prepare delicious meals.
Excursions
Guests can spend a weekend in the city of Ziguinchor. Sometimes the timing
is such that they can participate in a sabar festival. Dance students
appear in a show in the city attended by hundreds of Africans who cheer
encouragingly, appreciating the efforts Europeans and Americans make to
learn their dances.
Various excursions
can be arranged depending on the interests of guests: visits to villages,
markets, festivals, carnival events, music and dance spectacles, concerts;
trips in dug-outs or canoes to mangrove swamps or bird islands.
Dates
December 2009 through February 2010
Stay for all or any portion of that time.
Getting there
Take a flight to Dakar, Senegal. We will advise with more details when
you call or register.
Costs
Course is $460 per week per person if booked on or before October 30, 2009. After that date, the fee is $520 per week. This includes all dance and drum classes, accommodation
(double occupancy with a central bath house) and three meals per day.
Superior accommodation with private bath: $610/week. Single room with
private bath: $680/week. Round-trip transport between airport and dance
camp: $70.
Further information
and registration
In Europe:
Olivia: 079 291 6136
kurszh@carodiallo.com
Caro Diallo 011-41-79-238-60-14
http://www.carodiallo.com/
In the U.S.A.: Gena
Corea 802-257-3099
genovefa@sover.net
Further courses
and workshops
- Weekly courses
in Zurich, Berne, Basel, Lugano and Chiasso, Switzerland
- Weekend workshops,
week-long summer workshop in the Swiss mountains
- sabuhallá
healing workshop with Gena Corea (USA) and Caro Diallo Workshops
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