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drumming bodies dancing

Life tossed me to far flung places when I was a young Swiss student. I landed in Senegal as a tourguide the first year the country opened to tourism. Towards the end of my stay I caught a glimpse of a sabar dancer and drummer at the beach. It electrified me. I felt compelled to return to see it again.

This film is my exploration of the sabar dance and drum culture and the joyful community it creates, made with my Senegalese friends.

Producer Senegal Laye Diedhiou

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Abdoulaye Diedhiou lives in M’Bour, Senegal. Producer of audiovisual projects and director of www.itourismetv.com, television programs focused on tourism. He is also the manager of the group “Xalaas”, traditional sabar dancers and drummers, based in Senegal.

 

Photo: Laye in front of a historic canon used during the slave trade on the Island of Goré near Dakar, now the site of the House of Slaves

Featuring Mané Ndiaye, Pape Ndiaye, Babacar Top. 

Editor Bill Flicker.

Music by Seckou Keita and Omar Sosa.

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Screenings

drumming bodies dancing

Upcoming:

November 22nd, 7:30pm PST

Fall of Freedom screening

Electric Lodge

1416 Electric Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90291

Tickets:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/drumming-bodies-dancing-tickets-1971529371422

Past:

October 16th - November 16th, 2025

Sans Souci Festival

Online

http://sanssoucifest.org

October 12th - October 26th, 2025

Inspired Dance Film Festival

Online (Doco Trio)

https://inspireddance.com.au/idff-2025

October 12th, 2025, 7pm

Inspired Dance Film Festival

Reservoir Cinema

Level 3/28 Albion St

Surry Hills NSW 2010

Australia

 

February 22nd, 2025, 1:30pm

Dance on Camera Film Festival

Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre

Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway

New York, NY 10025

November 6th, 2024

UCLA

Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance with Q&A

Los Angeles, CA 90095

October 18th, 2024

Topanga Film Festival

​Froggy's - 1105 N Topanga Canyon Blvd

Topanga, CA 90290

Screening in MBour, Senegal, the principal filming location

June 18th, 2024, 8pm GMT, preceded by a sabar starting at 6:30pm

Past, continued:

June 6th, 2024, 12pm

Piton International Film Festival

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

May 31st - June 2nd, 2024

R.E.D. International Dance, Art & Film Festival (RIFF)

Einavegen 1771

2843 Eina

Norway

May 3rd - May 26th, 2024

The International Black & Diversity Film Festival Toronto

Canada

​May 17th, 2024, 6pm

UC Riverside Doundounba Festival 2024 with Q&A

900 University Ave

Riverside, CA 92521

January 28th, 2024, 5pm

KAOS Network
4343 Leimert Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90008

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November 10th, 2023, 5pm

Ethos Film Festival

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage

1310 11th St

Santa Monica, CA 90401

September 2nd, 2023, 11am

Vidiots

4884 Eagle Rock Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90041

I respect your privacy and will not share your contact information with any third parties.
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