DJENEBA SAKO & MAPUTO MENSAH
Born in Bamako, Mali, Djeneba Sako began her journey with dance and music at the young age of 5. She started dancing professionally at age 11 with the Bienal District Troupe. She danced with them for eight years, during which time they won the National biannual Dance Competition four times in a row. From there she went to the District of Bamako troupe, representing the city of Bamako, where she danced for eight years. With this group she traveled to Paris for the Paris International Dance Festival, which featured the best of ethnic dance from all over the world. She then joined the renowned traditional dance group Troupe Komi Djosse. The troupe disbanded after two years, after which she joined the Troupe Kantis featuring renowned djembefola Mamadou Kante. She has also worked with such artists as Djenebah Seck, Nanou Koul, Abdoulaye Diabate, Molubaly Traore, and Karim Coulibaly. Djeneba has also taught students who come to Mali from all over the world to learn with her. She is well known as one of the best dancers of traditional and modern Malian forms in Mali and the United States. She is one of only three Malian dance teachers here in the US, of which she is the only woman. Alongside her work at the University, she is often traveling and teaching at conferences around the states, sharing the culture of Mali through music, song, and dance.
Maputo Mensah was born and raised in Accra, Ghana, in a family of professional musicians and dancers. While still a small child, he was dancing and drumming with his family, and before he reached his teens, he was teaching and performing these traditional Ghanaian arts professionally. Later, he was honored to study for many years with Mustapha Tettey Addy, one of Ghana’s premiere artists in traditional music and dance, at the Academy of African Music and Arts. Over the years he has performed and taught with various dance troupes such as the Akrowa Cultural Ensemble in Kokrobite, Ghana, and the West African Folkloric Troupe in Accra. He also has wide experience as an international performer. Currently, he also performs with his own dance troupe, Logo Ligi, based in Boulder, Colorado. Maputo is an accomplished master of the African performing arts — dancing, drumming, singing, and storytelling — and he is passionate about sharing the art and culture of Ghana and Africa with the West through the classes he teaches at the University of Colorado, the University of Denver, K-12 schools, and community classes. He also leads a month-long trip to his native Ghana each summer, giving his students the opportunity to deeply experience the culture he is devoted to preserving and promoting. In addition, he is currently working to build a new cultural center in Kokrobite, Ghana, to teach West African performing arts to local and international students and established artists. Maputo Mensah is a world-class artist, a much-loved teacher, and an ambassador for the culture he cherishes.
Maputo Mensah was born and raised in Accra, Ghana, in a family of professional musicians and dancers. While still a small child, he was dancing and drumming with his family, and before he reached his teens, he was teaching and performing these traditional Ghanaian arts professionally. Later, he was honored to study for many years with Mustapha Tettey Addy, one of Ghana’s premiere artists in traditional music and dance, at the Academy of African Music and Arts. Over the years he has performed and taught with various dance troupes such as the Akrowa Cultural Ensemble in Kokrobite, Ghana, and the West African Folkloric Troupe in Accra. He also has wide experience as an international performer. Currently, he also performs with his own dance troupe, Logo Ligi, based in Boulder, Colorado. Maputo is an accomplished master of the African performing arts — dancing, drumming, singing, and storytelling — and he is passionate about sharing the art and culture of Ghana and Africa with the West through the classes he teaches at the University of Colorado, the University of Denver, K-12 schools, and community classes. He also leads a month-long trip to his native Ghana each summer, giving his students the opportunity to deeply experience the culture he is devoted to preserving and promoting. In addition, he is currently working to build a new cultural center in Kokrobite, Ghana, to teach West African performing arts to local and international students and established artists. Maputo Mensah is a world-class artist, a much-loved teacher, and an ambassador for the culture he cherishes.