CONGOLESE DRUMMING AND DANCE
May 18 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
FREE
Join us for a celebration of music, culture, and community as we share in the joy and
spirit of Congolese drumming and dance. Experience the rhythmic pulse of traditional
Congolese drumming and the rich cultural heritage of the dancers’ graceful movements telling stories of their ancestors. Feel the energy and passion that resonate through each beat, connecting you to a tradition that has been passed down through generations.
Andoche Jean Loubaki
Bronx Arts Ensemble teaching artists Andoche Jean Loubaki, born in Congo, began his dance career in 1986. He co-founded Tourbillon Sonnore Percussion and Dance Company in 1993. After the civil war, he joined Ballet Ngoma Za Kongo. He toured internationally and moved to the US in 2014, teaching and performing at various events and venues. With the collaboration of other Congolese artists, Andoche and Thelma Loubaki held their First Mfouambila Kongo Congolese Dance Conference in July 2016. This July, Andoche, his dance company Mfouambila Kongo, and students, will make their third journey to Congo-Brazzaville, for a cultural exchange with various teachers from Congo, who will offer traditional classes in dance, percussion, song, and Congolese cuisine. Andoche also teaches Congolese dance and drum classes in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Mfouambila Kongo Dance Company is a New York City-based dance and drum collective founded in 2015 by Artistic Director, Andoche Loubaki – a master of Congolese dance and drumming from Pointe-Noire, Brazzaville, Congo with over 30 years of drumming and dance experience. While the Republic of Congo (also called Congo-Brazzaville) has several ethnic groups – among them the Kongo, Teke, Mbochi, and Shangha – and nine regional states, Mofuambila’s focus is to represent all music of the Congo from all groups and the four corners of the Congo, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (also called Congo-Kinshasa) to the East. Mfouambila Kongo Dance Company completes that connection to the African diaspora with its traditionally rooted yet progressive performance repertoire.
