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
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.
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
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
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