Clockwise from top, L–R: Sakeenah McCullough Diouf, Demarcus; Madiou S. Diouf; Bottom L–R: Demarcus,
Maya, Ibrahima O. Diouf, Naomi Gedo Johnson-Diouf, TAKH
It’s 8:37 am on a Saturday in March, at the home of the Diouf family. Mama Naomi is up in her chambers, doing her best to stay out of the way as our shoot team has descended on her bedroom, with lights, plugs, clothes, makeup and bodies in every corner, trying to do every- thing. Many of the other rooms of the house are filled with people, of various ages, looking through piles of clothes, sipping from a disposable hot drink cup, rolling around under blankets, peeking into a bathroom mirror, or walking around with a cell phone lodged between their ear and shoulders. ‘Everyone’ is here. Mama Naomi Gedo Johnson-Diouf, her children, Esailama, Sakeenah, Madiou, Ibrahima, and Fatou Kine, and her grandchildren, Makai 16, TAKH 10, Maya 6, Kayden 4 and Demarcus 4. Papa Zakarya Diouf, who began his ancestorship journey on October 9, 2021, is also here, in spirit, in photos, and on a piece of mail with his name boldly written in all caps, that catches my eye. I imagine this is him reminding me that I need to style him too. “Ahhhhhh!” It’s Ibrahima, responding to his older sister Esailama’s pounce on him, that makes them topple onto their mother’s bed. Esailama clutches on to him, and smoth- ers him with hugs and kisses. When she’s finally satisfied that she’s imparted enough, for the moment, she releases him. I see my opening to ask for her to meet with me, so that we can make some decisions about her outfits for the shoot. Our 6-person photoshoot team arrived before 7am today to kick things off, and although seemingly under control, it’s not just a regular Saturday. It’s arguably the busiest weekend in this family’s schedule. Aside from the full family photoshoot, it’s also the weekend of their dance company Diamano Coura’s annual Collage des Cultures Africaines , a multi-day conference of dance and drum workshops, performances, and activities with local and international guest artists alike. Still, I don’t think I’ve taken in the enormity of the situ- ation, but it wasn’t lost on me that this was exactly what I was curious to discover. To the rest of the Bay Area dance community, there was a conference happening, which meant attending classes and connecting with other Afri- can dance lovers. But here I was in their home, watching
Esailama ask her family for their coffee orders, letting her mother know that her preferred tea order was not available by delivery app, while also toggling between phone calls, troubleshooting lodging and accommoda- tion mishaps associated with the conference. While it seemed too busy for a photoshoot, it was also the opportunity to be able to have all the family back home in one place. As I tinkered with furniture pieces and picture frames, selecting outfits, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like with Papa Zak in person. I knew him as my instructor of West African Dances at Laney College, before I dropped out because ‘life’ got busy. In that time, I was struck by his precision in the craft, and commit- ment to education and higher learning. I had to stop myself from spending time staring at pho- tos all around the house. Because even if all I wanted to do was sit around and sip tea drinks, and ask more ques- tions like if “Fatou Kine is the Kim K of the family then what is everybody else?” “Nkei come and tie me Nigerian gele.” Mama Naomi called from the room. It was action time. Dr. Zakarya Sao Diouf and Naomi Gedo Diouf are culture bearers and artists from Senegal and Liberia, respectively, who have contributed to the practice and performance of West African dance, drum, and culture in African diasporic communities for more than four decades. Before immigrating to the U.S. in 1969, he led the Mali Dance Ensemble and served as artistic director of Les Ballet Africaines of Guinea and National Ballet of Senegal. In 1969, Zakarya joined the faculty of South- ern Illinois University and was invited to dance with the dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham. Naomi Gedo Diouf grew up in Liberia and danced at Kendeja Cultural Center of the Liberian National Troupe and with prominent dancers and musicians from other West African nations. She came to Los Angeles as a high school student as a member of the Youth for Under- standing Exchange Program and later returned to the U.S. for university. In 1979, she met Zakarya who asked her to join his new dance company.
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in dance SPRING 2023 44
SPRING 2023 in dance 45
In Dance | May 2014 | dancersgroup.org
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