CO-FOUNDER

Seydou Coulibaly is one of Mali’s leading dancers, teachers, directors and choreographers. He was named Mali’s premiere dancer in the final Biennale Arts competition before the coup d’état in 1990.

He founded and was artistic director of Mali’s nationally respected and award-winning Troupe Komée Josée (1984-1993) , which toured throughout Mali. His film credits include Steven Spielberg's Amistad (1997), Street Party in Lafiabougou (1988), Hard Luck (2006) featuring Wesley Snipes and Directed by Mario Van Peebles and numerous educational films on Malian music, dance and culture. Coulibaly’s musical talents as a djun-djun player can be heard on Mohamed Kalifa Kamara’s Album, Africa Kanben.

His work with Yeredon and expert knowledge is the subject of Dr. Sharon Kivenko's Doctoral dissertation at Harvard University, titled Mobile Bodies: Migration, Performance and Social Belonging in Malian Dance. Seydou continues to work extensively in the US, at Wheaton College, Brown University, the Dance Complex in Cambridge, MA and collaborates with many local after school and community programs. His most recent proposed project, titled Yeredon: Know Thyself, is a documentary of compiled footage of Dance, Music, and Culture from the last 30 years in Mali, West Africa.

DIRECTOR OF LEGACY ARTS & EDUCATION

Assitan Coulibaly is a Malian-American dancer, choreographer, and writer based in Providence, Rhode Island. Assitan began training in West African dance with New Works/World Traditions at Brown University with whom she has performed and traveled worldwide.

Much of her choreographic work is greatly inspired by her Malian heritage and is highlighted by her fusion of Coupe Decalé, Afrobeats, traditional West African, and Hip Hop dance and music styles. These bodies of work are meant to reflect the fun and energetic community lifestyle that is reminiscent of her childhood growing up between the United States and Mali.

She has taught West African Dance at Wheaton College, Roger Williams University, Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts, The Wheeler School, and the Dance Complex in Cambridge, MA. Assitan holds her B.A. in Psychology with a double minor in Peace and Social Justice and French Studies from Wheaton College-MA (2017) and 200-hr Yoga Teacher Certification (B4C 2020).

Assitan is one of five founding members of The Haus of Glitter Dance Company, a principal dancer with Troupe Yeredon in Mali, the acting Dance Studio Coordinator at AS220, was awarded RISCA’s Folk Arts Fellowship (2021) for her work as a preserver of Traditional Mande Dance, and was featured in Art New England Magazine’s, 10 Emerging New England Artists article. In addition to her art, she is the acting Director of Legacy Arts & Education at Centre Yeredon in Bamako, Mali and a Teaching Artist and Performer with Pushed Learning and Media, a Boston based non-profit that specializes in diversity, privilege, and racial justice education.

CO-FOUNDER

Michelle Bach-Coulibaly is an educator, choreographer and movement specialist who teaches in the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies at Brown University.

Her works incorporate new music compositions, inter-medial film work, and art installations that address social, political, and environmental concerns. As the founder of New Works/World Traditions Movement Theatre and co-founder of the Yeredon Centre for Art, Culture and Social Engagement in Mali, West Africa, Bach-Coulibaly works closely with international organizations in Mali and the USA to support transnational collaboration, cultural preservation, public health, and humanitarian projects.

In 1990, she received a grant to travel to Mali and film traditional ceremonies, and there she studied with her mentor, N’ji Diakite, daily. Going to Street Parties, Artist Parties and life-cycle ceremonies, her research focused on the different perspectives on traditional dances and innovations by the youth and private companies such as Komme Jossee and District du Bamako. Bach-Coulibay was drawn to Malian dances as, “they were the most beautiful, complex dances and had unparalleled rhythmic vocabularies”.

During her research, N’Ji Diakite introduced her to the cultural issues in Mali where masses of young people were forsaking their culture in favor of Eurocentric music, styles, and beauty standards. In collaboration with local artists, they utilized the name “Yeredon” which translates to “Know Yourself”: it’s an endeavor to support and bring forth Malians to be the primary source of their own history.