Entering The Holy of Holies – African Dance Classes and Vendor Village

The rhythm will be pulsating with African, Fusion and Funk master dance classes to LIVE music all day at The Gibney : Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center on Chambers Street in lower Manhattan. Prepare to mix, mingle and “shop-‘til-you-drop” and support local artisans and small business owners in the vendor village right next door to the dance classes at the Gibney.

Dance enthusiasts are welcomed to get their dance moves on in one or more of the stellar line up of master classes and immerse themselves in the rich West African and African American cultures.

• 12 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. – Legendary African Dance Instructor Pat Mabry fuses traditional African American dances with Funk to create her unique style of class filled with African Dance Funk.  She has been dubbed “The Funk Meister.”

• 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. – Renowned Dance Instructor Maguette Camara will lead a vigorous West African dance class filled with  traditional music and folklore.

• 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. – The Juilliard School West African Dance Professor Darian M. Parker will teach a Soko class, a dance ritual for ethnic groups such as Komanko and Malinke, a rite of passage for boys, and a traditional baby naming ceremony for the Fula People.

• 3:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. – The energetic and exciting West African Dance Instructor Crystal Harrison will present two traditional dances – Kassa, a farmer’s dance from the Malinke people of Guinea, West African and Gumbe, a fisherman’s dance from Sierra Leone and Guinea, West Africa.

• 4:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. – The renowned Daaimah Taalib-Din will teach an Afro-Fusion Daaimahizm, a dynamic blend of West African vernacular infused with smooth, funky Afrobeat, a flair of contemporary and sassy movements.

• 5:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. – Award Winning Dancer Reverend Nafisa Sharriff will teach a Sunnu dance class – a playful, flirtatious dance between men and women from the Bambara people of Mali, West Africa.

The Gibney: Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center is located at 280 Broadway (entrance at 53A Chambers Street), New York, NY 10007.  Tickets cost $20 for a single class, $50 for 3 classes and $100 for an all day pass of 6 classes.