Drum & Dance
Aboubacar Sidick Camara
Master Drummer/Dancer--West African Forms
Camara is a Master Drummer and Dancer born in West Africa with family roots in Dakar, Senegal and Conakry, Guinea. He trained for seven years as a professional dancer with the Troupe D’Enfants of the Republique of Guinea (Children’s Troupe of the Republic of Guinea). From 1997-2002 he was the lead dancer and professional head of the performance group Bougarabou in Dakar, Senegal. Under his leadership they toured and performed in Japan, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Australia and Switzerland.
Since living in the USA he has led and participated in numerous performances. From 2004-2006 Aboubacar worked at Walt Disney’s Universal Studios as the leader of his own group Africa Sanké (Root of Africa). He has taught West African drum and dance classes and workshops at the elementary, high school and college level. He has also conducted workshops for community organizations.
He speaks French and English as well as several West African languages. His repertoire includes a
wide variety of traditional African dances as well as the accompanying songs, stories and rhythms.
The rhythms include: Koukou, Sinté and Sonsoriné (from the Beyla and Boké regions of Guinea), Lamba & Mandiani (from the Malinké people dispersed throughout Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Burkino Faso and Mali), and Liberté, a dance created by Laurent Camara to celebrate Guinea’s national independence.
Aboubacar relocated to Oklahoma in 2012. He has been one of the Teaching Artists on the Oklahoma Arts Council’s Roster since 2014. He teaches an African Percussion class in the Music Department at the University of Oklahoma where he also is a full-time staff member at the Sarkeys Athletic Center.