CIRCUIT PRODUCTIONS: Promoting Education in Music, Dance and the Performing Arts

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Performers:

Stephanie Larriere
Yalani Bangoura
Namari Bangoura

Musicians:

Pablo Dembele

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Upcoming Circuit Productions Sponsored Performances:

8/2/08 - Fort Greene Park
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Recent Circuit Productions Sponsored Performances:

6/5/08 - Brooklyn Heights Library
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Circuit Productions Inc. (CPI) is supported, in part, with public funds from New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Feraba: African Music and Percussion

Féraba: African Rhythm Tap Dance Company is a multicultural and multiethnic performance trio, fusing the traditional sounds and movements of West Africa with the only true American dance form of tap. Their mission is to inform, educate and entertain through the universal language of rhythm, promoting the ideal of friendship among people of all nations.

Féraba's explosive blend of music and dance has been well received by schools, community groups, theaters, universities, and festivals. Performances have included appearances at Lincoln Center, Aaron Davis Hall, Town Hall (NYC), the Flo-Bert Awards honoring Gregory Hines, A Tribute to Peg Leg Bates, and the International Tap Dance Festival. The trio and group ensemble have also toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Guinea, West Africa, and made many radio and television appearances, was featured in a Hong Kong television commercial and interviewed by the National TV in Guinea. Through community outreach, Féraba brings its extraordinary show to hospitals, schools, district 75 and shelters in the inner city.
See also Irene Koloseus's Féraba: African Rhythm Tap Dance Company

Andy Algire

Andy Algire (Composer/Performer) Born in Wausau, Wisconsin, Andy attended Merrill High School and was active in the music department. After high school he pursued a degree in Percussion Performance at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, with an emphasis on drum set and Jazz Studies. Following his formal education, he was involved in the Minneapolis music scene, touring nationally with guitarist/ singer/ songwriter Billy McLaughlin from 1995 to 1997. While there, he also accompanied Haitian dance classes, and began studying the music of Cuba and Ghana with local teachers. Moving to Connecticut in the summer of 1997, Andy continued to perform, record and study with Scott Hanna, percussionist, teacher, and founder of Rhythm Exchange World Music Ensemble. The group toured nationally in 1999, performing in schools, clubs and theaters and was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in February 2000.

Moving to New York in the spring of 2000, Andy began formal study with master balafonist Abou Sylla, from Guinea, West Africa. For the past seven years, he has recorded and performed with Mr. Sylla regularly. He is a member of several New York based groups including Féraba African Rhythm Tap, lead by Austrian tap-dancer Irene Koloseus and The Mandingo Ambassadors, lead by former Bembeya Jazz guitarist Mamady Kouyate. He has performed locally with Famoro Dioubate's Kakande, as well as groups led by keyboardist/composer Azouhouni Adou and others. He has also performed with several acclaimed recording artists from West Africa, including Sekouba Bambino, Mory Djeli Kouyate, and Oumou Dioubate. He currently leads his own ensemble, dedicated to the exploration of traditional and contemporary styles from Africa, the African Diaspora, and various jazz forms. Andy has traveled to Europe, Cuba, Guinea, and Mali to study and perform and plans to return to West Africa. He is also active as a music instructor, leading classes at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY, and teaching extensively throughout New York and New England.

Recently Andy began work on a program commissioned by Circuit Productions through the New York State Music Fund entitled “Sound Bridges”. The work will be performed as part of the "Rhythm Journeys – Masters of Jazz and World Music" series. This music explores the vibrant dynamic that exists between the music of Cuba and Guinea and other parts of West Africa. Also integral to the project is the relationship between jazz and African music and the continuing dialog that exists between them.
See also Irene Koloseus's Féraba: African Rhythm Tap Dance Company

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