ARTIST STATEMENT

My artistic statement is based on the following 3 essential points/ 3 states of mind:

- The tree cannot live without its roots, and the roots of many trees can merge and generate new energy.

My work is a mix of West African Mandingo traditional dances, Brazilian capoeira and theater expressions drawn from my work with influential African and European stage directors. I was trained in sacred and profane African traditional dance in my native country combined with other forms of expression to create a unique theat- rical statement. My mother gave me sage advice: “Knowing where you are com- ing from will help you identify and clarify where you are going.” The result is that my work is often about the search for identity, and the celebration of self-identity.

- Dance with your soul and your body will follow.

My dance goes beyond the simple beauty of movement - it speaks, questions and connects with others. My dance deconstructs and rebuilds, it balances, it touches the heart and soothes souls. Simply stated, my dance heals souls.

- Dance for change, Dance for success.

Success, for me, is to do more for others than others do for you. My goal is to support, mentor and lead my students to reach their goals. Having grown up with this maternal philosophy, and in a society where dance is a way of life, I started following this principle from a very young age. In 2014, I founded In-Out Dance Festival, which today brings together more than 80,000 actors and spectators in Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso).

Additionally, I created a dance program in a prison in Burkina Faso in 2017, and I worked with more than 70 prisoners in order to help them reenter society. Today, more than 60 of these prisoners are reintroduced into society and are doing well. In the past ten years, I have developed a dynamic performance and teaching presence which has led me to work assignments in 38 countries in 4 continents including Mexico, Israel, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Morocco, France, France, Canada and the United States.