Workshops

Outi Kallinen is a multitalent of dance and music: a teacher, a performer and a choreographer. She has performed with numerous dance, theater and music groups, and been touring with them all over Europe, as well as e.g. in China, Guinea and Senegal. Outi has choreographed and directed several dance theater performances based on African dance and music. She has also worked as a teacher from the mid-1980’s until today.

Outi on stage with her Wonuwali group in  Fest Afrika:

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Catherine “Kelly” Knuutila is a Tanzanian dancer and musician living in Tampere. Born into the musical Mponda family, Catherine started to sing already as a child. Her parents taught their children songs from various regions of Tanzania, in different languages, but especially songs of the Ngoni and Manda people.

Catherine studied music, dance and theatre at the Bagamoyo College of Arts in Tanzania. After that she has been part of several dance and theatre productions, and she has also worked as a background singer, e.g. in Tanzanian reggae star Jhikoman’s band. Lately, she has been mostly performing with The Mpondas Family Band.

Catherine is known for he beautiful, strong voice. At the workshop, on Thu 1.8.2013 at 17.30 – 19.00, she will be sharing some of her family’s musical heritage with us. We will learn traditional Tanzanian songs and practice the style of singing and the harmonies characteristic of these songs. Everybody is welcome!

N’Fanly ”Alya” Camara is a dance, musician and choreographer from Guinea, now living in Helsinki. He got his professional training at the Guinean National Ballet Djoliba. After that he performed in other West African ballets in Senegal, Ivory Coast and the Gambia.

After moving to Europe in 1987, N’Fanly has performed as a dancer and a musician in other types of ensembles as well, e.g. in the bands of pop stars like Salif Keita. He moved to Finland in 1996 and has here worked increasingly as choreographer and a teacher. He is also the artistic director of the dance company Wonuwali.

In Fest Afrika, N’Fanly performs with the band Lanyi that plays traditional music from Guinea, leads family afro in the children’s day program and teaches a workshop of djembe and dundun drumming. The drumming workshop takes place on Fri 2.8. and Sat 3.8.2013 at 16.00 – 17.30. (more…)

Papa Thioune is a musician from Senegal now living in Germany. He is part of a well known family of musicians in Dakar and started therefore playng drums already as a child. Since then, he has performed e.g. as the lead drummer of the Waato Siita dance group and toured Central Europe with the Afrika! Afrika! circus production.

Performance of Waato Siita in the inauguration of the new National Theatre in Dakar, in 2011:

In Fest Afrika Papa will teach sabar drumming and accompany Pape Moussa’s dance classes. The sabar drums are a tradition of the Wolof people. They can be heard at many kinds of events, especially at celebrations where they accompany dancing, but also e.g. at wrestling matches. Even in Senegalese pop music, mbalax, the sabar drums play a central role. (more…)