Course teachers for traditional Music and Dance
Since childhood, Benoît and Jacques have been dancing and playing percussion for the dance company Zomableo. In Mantou (a widespread Lomése dialect), Zomableo means “they show their strength and nobody can equal them”. Within the group, they specialize in “agbadja” the traditional dance of southern Togo. They also play djembe, tam-tam or bara. Zomableo is often called to play for official ceremonies and also for cultural festivals.
They have taken part several times in the Festda festival, a large African traditional dance festival which unites groups from all the region’s countries, that is: Benin, Ivory Cost, Nigeria, Ghana and Burkina Faso.
Koffi Benoît Hlomatsi Professional artist. He will teach rhythmic percussion on the djembe, tam-tam and bassa (tam-tam from northern Togo). Benoit is the costume director of Zomableo.
Jacques Gavor Kodjovi Professional artist. He will teach the “agbadja” traditional dance as well as dances which are more traditional in northern Togo. Jacques is the technical director of Zomableo. Melodic percussion teacher Nazoun Coulibaly
He is from Mali and comes from a family of traditional instrument makers. He says that for him, making and playing music is a family story. He made his first balafon at the age of 5. At the time, it was only a three bar instrument, but it was a good beginning. He is a master artisan making balafons, djembe, bara, tam-tam, kalimba, flutes and wassamba. He is also a balafonist-storyteller, singer, and plays with a band in Mali. He is often called to play in Togo for festivals and cultural centers. During this training, he will teach the balafon and the kora.
Singing teacher AGBOVON Kokou Mawusey from music group Adido-Tradition-Jazz
AKOTIAH Japhet From music group Adido-Tradition-Jazz. They will teach singing and African culture during the training. |