The Dynamic Realities of “Traditional” Dance: Les Ballets Africains

Abstract

This paper presents the author's journey to West Africa, which grew out of a desire to trace the roots of “real” jazz dance. Seeking the “authentic,” the author (ironically) sought out the oldest national company of Guinée-Conakry, Les Ballets Africains, which has been performing and creating for fifty-three years years. Mandated to preserve the rich cultural traditions of Guinée, they are the “real thing,” revealed in what the author calls a “dynamic reality”: traditional dance that is at once authentic, significant, contemporary, and fluid.