Nandasy Keita NANSADY KEITA From Hand To Hand: The Wassa Kunba! Drumming Experience 2011 Workshop Tour *Wassa Kunba! - Malinké for Great Joy! Wassa Kunba! Great Joy! Through these amazing workshops, Nansady Keita will share with everyone the great joy of traditional Malinké hand drumming from Guinea, West Africa. Fode Camara will be joining the tour as the Sangbanfola. Improve your skills and experience Wassa Kunba! with these musicians. Many people travel to Guinea but few go beyond the city of Conkary to study in the villages where the drummers are like a hidden treasure. This will be a unique opportunity to experience the rich artistic culture of village life in Guinea without traveling a great distance. You will hear the inspiring call of the djembe and learn the beautiful songs of the village djelli (oral historians). You’ll feel the powerful melodies of the dunun bass drums. Come be a part of a joyful environment where we come together as a small village and enjoy the uplifting beauty of the Malinké ensemble. Whatever your background or experience level, take this unique opportunity to study this amazing music. NANSADY KEITA Nansady Keita was born in the village of Sangbaralla in Guinea, West Africa, where centuries-old rhythms and songs are part of the fabric of daily life. He began playing traditional Malinké music at a very young age, first using a tin can as a djembe and a water container as a dunun. Nansady studied intensively with djembe-master Djoumeh Camara from the age of 8 and eventually progressed to lead djembe-fola (djembe player) in Sangbaralla. The village is located in the country's Hamana region, where the djembe orchestra and the powerful Dunun (Dance of the Strong Men) rhythms were born. Nansady spent twenty years immersed in the traditional repertoire of Malinké music that accompanies community festivals, celebrations, rights-of-passage and agricultural activities in his village. His playing was in demand across the region when his uncle, world-renowned Master Drummer, Famoudou Konaté, heard him playing on a recording a local had made. Famoudou then invited Nansady to the capital city of Conakry to perform with his ensemble, while teaching visiting students from the United States, Europe, Japan and elsewhere. In 2002 and 2004, Nansady performed as second soloist with Famoudou's group "Hamana Foli Kan" on concert tours of Europe and Japan. Nansady appears as a soloist, accompanist and dunun-fola on five of Famoudou Konaté's CDs, all of which have received global acclaim. Fode Camara Nansady's tremendous knowledge of Malinké rhythms, clarity of tone and dynamic musicianship have solidified his position as one of the next great djembe-folas to emerge from West Africa. In recent years, he has completed his own workshop and performance tours of North America, Europe, Scandanavia and Japan. Nansady is a skilled and patient teacher with an engaging sense of humor and warm, abundant laughter that immediately put both experienced and novice students at ease. In 2006, the Music Worldwide Inter-cultural Music Consultancy invited Nansady to the UK, where he now lives and works, returning to Guinea each winter. He is a regular performer at major world-music events in Great Britain, including WOMAD, Drum Camp, The Tribe of Doris Intercultural Summer School and The African Drum Village Festival in Scotland and played on the motion-picture soundtrack for Warner Bros. "Blood Diamond." Nansady was also the subject of a documentary film on black and minority ethnic (BME) individuals in the UK entitled "That's Why I Love It." He has released two CDs, Farafina Sangbaralla (2010) and Hamana Kalu (2008). To learn more about Nansady Keita go to www.NansadyKeita.com From Hand to Hand The Wassa Kunba! teaching system involves an intensive 4 hours of instruction per day and ensures that you will leave with everything you will need to study and perform a complete Malinké rhythm. You’ll learn the basic rhythms on the three dununs and the djembe accompaniment parts. You will also learn echauffements (the patterns that heat up the song), djembe solo techniques, introductions and breaks, dunun variations and even songs that accompany the rhythms in the village. You’ll learn the origins of each rhythm, receive expert instruction on all instruments in the traditional Malinké djembe orchestra and deepen your understanding of the place of music, dance and song in West African life. Nansady is able to work simultaneously with students of all levels - beginner to professional. Absolutely everyone is welcome! Finally, each workshop includes a set-aside time during which all of the drum parts are played so that students can have a clean recording of the material. NORTH AMERICAN WORKSHOP DATES June 2011 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 July 2011 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 If the location you are interested in attending is SOLD OUT please contact the sponsor and have them put you on their waiting list. Dates City Sponsor June 10th-12th Rimouski, Quebec Brigitte Vincent June 16th-19th Portland, Maine Medusa's Musical Mysteries June 23rd-26th Round Lake Beach, Illinois Medusa's Musical Mysteries June 27th-28th Round Lake Beach, Illinois SPECIAL ADVANCED CLASS Medusa's Musical Mysteries July 7th-10th Calgary, Alberta Andie Shaffer July 16th-17th Lake Forest, Illinois STRONG MAN INTENSIVE Medusa's Musical Mysteries July 24th Waukegan, Illinois ENCORE CLASS Medusa's Musical Mysteries