Kekene XIII - The Gathering 2019 Comes to JKO High School

Kekene XIII - The Gathering 2019, a weekend-long celebration of Ivory Coast drum and dance, will have a limited engagement run from Saturday November 9 thru Sunday November 10 in NYC. The production features an evening of dance and drum spectacle at JKO High School,120 West 46th Street, NY, NY, followed by Sunday dance and drum workshops by West African instructors at the National Black Theater at 2031 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY.

Kekene means "gathering" in Mahouka, Vado Diomande's native language. Kekene began in 2006 after Vado's historic survival of naturally-occurring anthrax. His miraculous recovery was the inspiration for a yearly celebration of joy and gratitude bringing together master Ivory Coast performers from the United States and Europe to demonstrate the stories, rituals, and beliefs in Ivory Coast village culture through theatre,. These guest performers present an annual embodiment of culture, gathering for important events, uniting in joy and celebration, marking the important moments of life, often with spectacular and symbolic masks and their dances.

This year's dance-drama will feature The Tree of Envy, a narrative about a village crisis over jealousy that highlight three magnificent mask dances directed by Vado Diomande (Artistic Director). Vado was an ex-principal dancer of Le Ballet National Ballet de Côte d'Ivoire before establishing Kotchegna Dance Company in Abidjan in 1989. Kotchegna toured Africa and Australia before coming to New York City in 1994. Kotchegna means messenger in Mahou, Vado's native language, dedicated to spreading the village and mask culture of Ivory Coast. Kotchegna Dance Company is a multi-ethnic, international dance corps dedicated to presenting and teaching the diverse dances, songs and rhythms of Ivory Coast, a rich culture of over 60 different groups and cultural traditions.

Vado Diomande (Founder and Artistic Director). Vado was born into the sacred mask stilt-dancing tradition of the Mahouka people in northwest Ivory Coast. His father and uncle initiated him into sacred traditions, designating him the Keeper of the Sacred Mask, Gue-Pelou, at an early age. Pelou is a sacred mask stilt dance that bring blessings from the ancestors. Discovered early by talent scouts, Vado joined the Ballet National de Côte d'Ivoire in Abidjan, learning over 60 ethnic dance traditions. Vado was a principal dancer for 15 years, hailed as a captivating performer with his acrobatic stilt dances. In 1989, Vado established L'Ensemble Kokiegna d'Abidjan, touring Ivory Coast and Australia before relocating to New York City in 1994. His corps of multi-ethnic dancers perform and teach throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, appearing at the Ordway Theatre, Minneapolis, the American Museum of Natural History, 92nd St Y, and four cities for the National Folk Festival. Vado has taught at SUNY Purchase, Manhattanville College, and Barnard College; he was featured on Broadway at the Victory Theater with Tamango. He currently teaches professionals at Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, adults at Cumbe Center for African and Diaspora Dance, and high school students at Urban Assembly High School for the Performing Arts. His company repertoire of traditional dances is widely loved and admired.

Lisa Diomande (Event Producer and Manager). Lisa is a trained actress, dancer, and teacher who has managed Kotchegna Dance Company since 2001. She studied at NYU Tisch School of the Arts (BFA), the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, and Sanford Meisner technique; she has an MA in Language and Literacy from The City College of New York, and is certified in Orff-Schulwerk music instruction. Her dance disciplines include Afro-Cuban, Haitian, Brazilian, Guinea, Senegalese, and Cote d'Ivoire. She has studied under Loremil Machado, Lavinia Williams, Pat Hall, Djoniba Moufflet, Marie-Basse Wilkes, Maguette Camara, Lamine Thiam, Youssouff Koumbassa, and Vado Diomande.. As an actress, she toured in a bi-lingual production of Don Quixote, played Gertrude in Hamlet, and Olivia in Midsummer Night's Dream, and performed throughout the NYC school system as a founding member of ATOMIA (A Theatre of Music in Action) with Young Audiences. Currently serving adults at the Henry Street Workforce Development Center as the HSE Program Coordinator, Lisa manages and instructs adults in getting a high school diploma. She has taught writing at the City College of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and LaGuardia Community College. Lisa is dedicated to advancing artistic, cultural and linguistic understanding through arts and education.

Jehan O. Young, (Company Coordinator). Jehan is a classically-trained actor, dancer, and emerging arts manager. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia by way of California, she holds a BA & MFA in Drama & Acting from Spelman College and Columbia University, respectively, Jehan has been a board member and serves as a company coordinator for Kotchegna Dance Company. She has also been an associate producer for recent company productions at the Ailey Theater and the 92nd Street Y. As a charter fellow with The Field Leadership Fund, Jehan was paired with Cumbe Center for African and Diaspora Dance. During her fellowship year, Jehan assisted Cumbe in developing their Community Engagement program and worked to promote pricing parity by establishing equitable pricing tiers as an effort to enrich all communities and audiences by generously sharing Cumbe's cultural resources without constraint.

Presently, Jehan serves The Bushwick Starr as the General Management Associate where she intends to continue fostering and advocating for the arts, especially in support of independent and under-represented artists and arts organizations.

The running time is 2 hours, including intermission.

Tickets are $25 and available online at

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kekene-xiii-the-gathering-2019-tickets-67928779809 or at the door of JKO Theater, 120 West 46th Street, New York, NY.