Simb Lion Dance symposium

On sale soon: A full-day symposium connecting the tradition of the powerful and theatrical Senegalese Simb Lion Dance with contemporary practice. 

The symposium will include 

• an opportunity to learn the Simb Lion Dance - all welcome
• a performance by dance artists who have learned Simb during a 12-week programme at The Dance Space
• a large-scale Simb performance uniting international artists in a display of West African cultural excellence featuring five professional Lion Dancers and an ensemble of drummers and musicians.
• a Q&A session to enable participants to learn more about this folkloric dance tradition

This Arts Council England funded project features artist and dancer Palaye Seck, and Kora player Suntou Susso in a showcase of the interconnectedness of Griot music & Senegalese folkloric dance. 

Griot is a West African tradition from the 13th-century Mali Empire. Griots are hereditary oral historians, poets, and musicians who use instruments like the 21-string kora, the ngoni, and the balafon to preserve genealogy, tell epic histories, and praise communities.