Kissidugu

For Booking information contact JJ Odell via email at [email protected] or by phone 970.690.2773 Click here for information regarding Camp Merveilles.Kissidugu, a West African Percussion and Dance troupe, was established in late 2004 by Master Drummer and Dancer Fara Tolno from Guinea, West Africa. The mission of Kissidugu, an organization based in Boulder, is to spread the beauty of West African music, dance, drumming, culture, history, and language.As a means of furthering this goal, Kissidugu plans to devolop a music, language and cultural education progam in Guinea. The Boulder organization will work in conjunction with the program in Guinea, sharing skills and resources, while acting as the headquarters for a long-term school construction project within GuineaThe people of Guinea have experienced severe hardship in recent years. With the civil wars in the Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Liberia, southern Guinea has been flooded with over 200,000 refugees seeking safety from war and persecution. Already one of the poorest countries in the world, Guinea has experienced intensified hardship due to the influx of refugees.The word Kissidugu means safe place in the Kissi language. In an attempt to provide a safe, positive, and creative space for both adults and children, Kissidugu will build, maintain, and run the Guinean school. This will give local musicians, dancers, and storytellers an opportunity to share their music, language and cultural traditions while providing a unique means for an international body of students to study with master musicians and teachers in Guinea.