– The Spirit Lives On

KANKOURAN!

41ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND CONCERT 2024

“ORIGIN: A Spiritual Journey Back Home” 

Internationally renowned, KanKouran West African Dance Company, hosts its 41st Annual National African Dance and Drum Conference: Thursday, August 29 – Sunday, September 1, 2024. This Labor Day weekend event also kicks off African Heritage Month in the District of Columbia.

With the calling from the drums, KanKouran’s Annual African Dance and Drum Conference ushers in a NATIONAL CONVERGENCE of West Africa’s finest dancers and musicians. Professional artists, dance companies, youth organizations, and dance/drum enthusiasts come from around the world to partake in four days of dancing and drumming instruction from the most skilled teachers. More than 20 workshop presenters from Senegal, Guinea, Mali, the Congo, and Liberia are set to teach techniques perfected through years of performance, experience, study, and research. Conference workshops cater to a variety of dance styles and levels. Each year, KanKouran’s Annual Conference is the most highly anticipated event of its kind!

This year’s concert production will take the audience on an ancestral journey, reconnecting the African spiritual experience back to the beginning. KanKouran’s Artistic Director, Assane Konte, will present an elaborate showcase of choreography that demonstrates a spectacular and highly energized array of traditional spiritual dances that celebrate the long ancestral line from Africa, to the outside world, and back to Africa. The concert production will feature KanKouran’s Senior, Junior, and Children’s Companies, participants from the Adult Community Dance Class, and guest artists.

HOST HOTEL AND CONFERENCE VENUE: 

Washington Marriott Capitol Hill – 175 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20002

Single/Double Rooms $199 https://www.marriott.com/events/start.mi?id=1719858502969&key=GRP

Cut-Off Date: August 8

CONCERT: Saturday, August 31, 8pm

Howard University’s Cramton Auditorium – 2455 6th Street NW, Washington, DC 20059

Admission $30 (General Seating)

KANKOURAN’S 41st ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND CONCERT IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY…

  • THE D.C. COMMISSION ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES (AN AGENCY SUPPORTED IN PART BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS)
  • THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACKS IN DANCE
  • THE MELLON FOUNDATION
  • HOWARD UNIVERSITY’S CHADWICK A. BOSEMAN COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS, AND WHUT-HOWARD UNIVERSITY TELEVISION