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Draft:Aly Keita (choreographer)

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Aly Keita
BornMarch 25, 1991
Conakry, Guinea
NationalityGuinean
Occupation(s)Choreographer, dancer, circus artist, musician, singer
Years active2007–present

Aly Keita (born March 25, 1991, in Conakry, Guinea) is a choreographer, dancer, circus artist, musician, and singer based in Montreal. As a multidisciplinary artist, his artistic achievements and choreographic works bridge contemporary dance, African dances, circus arts (floor acrobatics, balancing, juggling), singing, and musical compositions. He is also active in cultural mediation through collaborations with festivals, artistic and community organizations, and partnerships with institutions specializing in welcoming newcomers and health.

Biography

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Education, training, and achievements

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Aly Keita's artistic career began in Conakry, Guinea, at the age of 13, when he practiced Afro-urban dances[1] and hip-hop. In 2007, he enrolled at the Centre acrobatique Keita Fodeba to learn circus arts, a specialization that opened the door to multidisciplinary practice as he also trained in traditional ballet and music[2][3].

In 2016, Keita left his native Africa for an intercultural exchange between young Guinean circus artists and their Inuit counterparts from Nunavut. This project, created by Guillaume Saladin, co-founder of the troupe Artcirq, and Yamoussa Bangoura, who founded the troupe Kalabanté[4], allowed Aly Keita to engage with another culture while addressing themes such as suicide, despair, and poverty, culminating in the documentary Circus Without Borders[5].

In 2019, Keita refined his dance skills with the Nyata Nyata Dance Company (Montreal), founded in 1986 by Canadian dancer, writer, and choreographer Zab Maboungou.

Since 2020, Keita has focused on his work Djata: Conversations du Manden, a solo artistic performance combining Afro-contemporary and acrobatic dances, performed to live and prerecorded music, with several musicians playing percussion and the sanza[6]. Inspired by the Mandingo Empire, an ancient Malian empire dating from the 13th century, and particularly the Epic of Sundiata, an epic poem recounting the foundation of the Mandingo Empire by Sundiata Keita, its founder and ruler, Keita's 25-minute piece is based on the legend known as The Awakening of the Lion. Through movements and acrobatics, the piece narrates the determination of the prince, who, as a child, was deposed because he could not walk. Through sheer determination, the future ruler managed to walk, impressing his people and uniting the territories of West Africa to form the great Mandingo Empire. This choreographic and musical work is supported by organizations such as the Fondation de la Place-des-Arts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, La Serre - Arts vivants, and the Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal.

Notable works and performances

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As choreographer-performer

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  • 2022: Afro-Canada (documentary produced by Radio-Canada)[7]
  • 2021-2022: Djata: Conversations du Manden[6] (Performance: Tangente, 2021; Festival Furies, 2022; Festival d'arts vivants Errance, 2022; Journées de la culture, 2022).
  • 2021-2022: Whitewash[8]
  • 2021: Dansaville[9]
  • 2019: Mozongi[10]

As a circus artist

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  • 2018: Odysseo (Cavalia)[11]
  • 2017: Won'ma Africa[12]
  • 2016: Afrique en cirque
  • 2015: Circus Baobab
  • 2015: Circus Without Borders. The Story of Artcirq and Kalabanté[5]

As a multidisciplinary artist

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  • 2021: Ces liens que nous tissons[13]

Notes and references

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  1. ^ "Keita, Aly". Regroupement québécois de la danse (in French). Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  2. ^ "Ces mouvements intérieurs qui nous fondent" (in French). 2020-12-14. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  3. ^ "Keita, Aly". Regroupement québécois de la danse (in French). Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  4. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Arts- (16 February 2017). "De la Guinée à Montréal, le rêve des acrobates du cirque Kalabanté". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  5. ^ a b "The Cinematheque / Circus Without Borders". The Cinematheque. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  6. ^ a b peljo (2021-12-08). "En résidence – Aly Keita, de l'empire mandingue à l'universel". Place des Arts (in French). Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  7. ^ "La série Afro-Canada : raconter l'histoire effacée de la communauté afrodescendante". ici.radio-canada.ca (in French). Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  8. ^ "Clips". Collectif White Wash Productions (in French). Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  9. ^ Montréal, Ville de. "Dansaville en tournée - Festival international de projection illusionniste de Montréal". montreal.ca (in French). Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  10. ^ "Mozongi". sat.qc.ca (in French). Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  11. ^ "Cavalia Odysséo • Grande Première à Montréal". Cavalia (in French). 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  12. ^ "WON'MA AFRIQUE". Cirque Kalabanté (in French). Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  13. ^ Lévis, À. "Ces liens que nous tissons… spectacle présenté dans le cadre de la Fête nationale du Québec". À Lévis (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2022-11-03.

See also

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