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

Féraba: African Rhythm Tap Dance Company

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Members:

Andy Algire, Composer
Irene Kolseus, African Dance

Yaloni Bangoura,
African Dance
Abdoulay Diabale, Guitar
Daibate Pablo, Vocals
Nick Sullivan, Bass

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Recent Circuit Productions Sponsored Performances:

11/16/08 - Uniondale 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.

Irene Koloseus's Féraba: African Rhythm Tap Dance Company

Féraba is dedicated to the appreciation and the preservation of American Tap dance and traditional West African music, dance and culture. Féraba’s mission is to inform, educate and entertain through the universal language of rhythm, promoting the ideal of friendship, tolerance and cultural understanding among people of all nations.

Féraba was founded in New York City in 1995, through the collective creative vision of Irene Koloseus and world-renowned master balafonist Abou Sylla from Guinea, West Africa. A multicultural and multiethnic performance group, Féraba fuses the traditional sounds and movements of West Africa with the American artistic forms of tap dance and jazz in a unique and exciting way. Féraba exposes its audience to many different cultures, and seeks to create a bond of understanding among the people of the world, suggesting that this diversity enriches one’s life.

Irene Kolseus

(Artistic Director/Choreographer/Dancer) is an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and instructor, who began her career in her native Austria. She is the founder and Artistic Director of Féraba-African Rhythm Tap Company, formed through a collaboration with internationally renowned musician Abou Sylla. The group premiered at the NYC Tap Festival and prompted Gregory Hines to say, “I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Ms. Koloseus has performed throughout the US, West Africa and Europe, appearing with world-renowned tap artists such as Dr. James “Buster” Brown, Savion Glover, Josh Hilberman and Roxane Butterfly. She has also collaborated with Heather Cornell of Manhattan Tap and Max Pollack of Rumba Tap. Ms. Koloseus has studied African and Brazilian percussion intensively, and was a member of Ivo Araujo’s Manhattan Samba Band and Madou Dembele’s Benkelema.

She is the recipient of the Ethnic Dance Award by Giant Steps funded by the New York State Council on the Arts and the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and MCAF/NYC, administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

Ms. Koloseus performs with Féraba throughout the U.S., bringing the thoroughly authentic and completely unique global flavor and energy of the group into many communities. As a teaching artist, she has designed curricular based movement and music residencies for students of all ages and abilities and has conducted staff development programs for educators.

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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 Musi"c 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 Feraba: African Music and Percussion

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