EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Lamine Sonko is a guewel descendant of the Wolof and Mandinko cultural communities of Senegal with over two decades of experience across interdisciplinary arts and practice-led research. He is an award-winning artist, whose music, theatre and film works have been presented throughout Australia and internationally. Lamine is a leading voice for advancing traditional knowledge systems through artistic practice, research, and community engagement and is deeply committed to enabling platforms for cultural exchange, connection, and social transformation through the arts.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Olive has over 15 years of experience working in the development and delivery of cultural projects across multidisciplinary contexts, with a strong focus on practice-led research. She has led complex international projects between Australia and Africa, providing strategic direction and overseeing the delivery of creative and research programs in collaboration with artists, institutions, and cultural custodians, ensuring outcomes that are culturally grounded, collaborative, and operationally robust.

ASSOCIATE ARTIST

Awa Coulibaly is a principal dancer with La Linguère, the resident dance company of the National Theatre Daniel Sorano. Renowned for her commanding stage presence, physical strength, and technical mastery of traditional Senegalese dance forms, Awa has been a prominent member of the ballet for over 15 years performing throughout Senegal and internationally as a leading dancer. She is also an experienced dance workshop facilitator, teaching students from all over the world though the theatre’s residency programs.

ASSOCIATE ARTIST

Anita Quayle is a contemporary cellist and composer with a flair for the unconventional. She began her training at the Victorian College of the Arts and graduated with a BA in Contemporary Music. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, Anita has collaborated with a vast array of artists, including singers/songwriters: Eddie Perfect, Shauntai Batzke, Russell Morris, Ainslie Wills, Nat Bartsch, Zimbabwean RnB songstress Thando; dancer Alya Manzart from Chunky Move and playwriter Adam Cass, to name a few.

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Aboubakry Njaparta SOW holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Liège in Belgium.  He is a research fellow at URICA/IFAN Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar and a consultant at the Museum of Black Civilizations. His work addresses themes on multi-located terrains, linking musical heritage, geosophy, eco-musicology (nature and environment) and musical practices. He also serves as a consultant to the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences (FLSH) in Nouakchott, within the Department of Sociology.

PROJECTION DESIGNER

Rhian Hinkley is an animator, filmmaker and projection designer working across film, installation and performance. His practice spans screen-based work, sculptural installation and collaborative performance-making, with a strong interdisciplinary focus. He has contributed to major theatre productions in Australia and internationally, including collaborations with Back to Back Theatre, Stephanie Lake Company and Chunky Move. His work has been presented internationally, including at SXSW and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

ASSOCIATE ARTIST

Aminata Sarr is an accomplished Senegalese dancer and actor, currently a lead performer with the Ballet National ‘La Linguère’ at the National Theatre Daniel Sorano in Dakar. She has performed across Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, bringing Senegalese performance to global audiences. Her stage and screen credits include featured roles in productions such as ‘L’Alchimie des Rythmes’ with Step Africa! (USA), ‘La Linguère’ at Expo 2023 in Doha, ‘Le Epope’ (India), and lead actor of the award-nominated film ‘La Boxeuse’by Guddi Productions.

ASSOCIATE ARTIST

Abdoul Aziz Ngom is a master sabar drummer and dancer who trained in the tradition of guewel cultural practices from a young age within his community. Recognised for his mastery of complex rhythms in percussion and dance ensembles, he joined the National Theatre Daniel Sorano in 2017 and has performed in numerous major productions and international tours. He continues to innovate within the sabar tradition, collaborating with dancers, vocalists, and musicians through performance, education, and community engagement

ASSOCIATE ARTIST

Ndick Sene is a master ritii (traditional violin) player and respected cultural elder of the Serer people of the Thies cultural community with over 30 years of professional experience. As a member of the National Theatre of Senegal’s traditional music ensemble he has played a vital role in preserving and promoting Senegal’s ceremonial and ritual music traditions. Ndick has performed across Senegal and internationally at major cultural festivals and theatrical productions.

THEATRE ASSOCIATE

David Joseph is a multi-skilled physical performer and theatre maker with over 35 years professional experience. He is an award winning actor and musician, co-director of Bowerbird Theatre (with Karen Berger), a committed community artist and social circus trainer and a highly regarded workshop facilitator. In 2016 he devised and performed his award winning solo show Deceptive Threads. In 2014 he performed in Tales of the Laneways and Behind the Public Eye as part of The 24 Hour Experience.

ASSOCIATE ARTIST

Kine Aw’s is a widely celebrated visual artist, inspired by her Senegalese heritage and the world of women in the Sahel. Her paintings and sketches have a distinct cubist style, characterised by organic geometric forms. Based in Dakar, Senegal, Kine graduated from the National School of Arts in 2006. In 2008, she won The Cuomo Foundation painting award for her outstanding work. She has exhibited her work globally including Mbari Institute in Washington in 2010, Winterhur in Switzerland in collaboration with Afropfingsten Festival in 2009 and with the Serengheti gallery in Washington in 2010.

SOUND DESIGNER

Roger Alsop works in experimental, interdisciplinary and interactive music, visual arts, and performance. His practice explores listening, structure, and the interactions between sound, space, and visual forms, through composed and improvised computer based and collaborative works. His art work has been supported by VicHealth, Regional Arts Victoria, Australischebotschaft-ost (Berlin), Prague Quadrennial, and Liminaria (Italy). He has taught at Nicola Sala Conservatorium, and Greenwich, Edinburgh, and Belgrade Universities

THEATRE ASSOCIATE

Karen has worked in Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe as a director, musical director, actor and musician. She has performed in the Edinburgh, Melbourne and Singapore Festivals and assistant directed for MTC. As well as degrees in music, theatre and maths, Karen has a grounding in African culture, having studied percussion in Ghana and Senegal, lectured at the University of Ghana. Karen has completed her PhD in Performance Studies from Federation University.

SET DESIGNER

Suzie Bates is a visual artist and arts educator who lives and works on Taungurung Country in North-east Victoria. She is passionate about Community Art that is inclusive and culturally diverse. Completing a Bachelor of Fine Art majoring in Sculpture at the VCAin 2003 she has exhibited in dozens of group shows and had a solo show titled Sanctuary in 2023.  Suzie’s practice centres on her travels and local environment, exploring environmental and mythic themes in sculpture, printmaking and photography.

SOUND DESIGNER

Thomas Campbell is an award-winning composer, music producer and sound engineer. He specialises in creating music, sound designs, and bespoke interactive systems for large-scale installations, theatrical productions, and live events. Through his work he explores building new and intuitive systems for interactive music performance through light, movement and capacitive sensing devices. Thomas has collaborated with major artists and companies including Back To Back Theatre, Born In A Taxi and A Blank Canvas. 

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER

Samba DIAITE is the Director of Partnerships at the Grand Théâtre National de Dakar, one of Senegal's leading cultural institutions. A cultural development advocate based in Dakar, he is committed to expanding artist opportunities, partnerships and a more inclusive and sustainable cultural ecosystem. He is the founder of the Jigeen Ni Orchestra and JAM School 221 (Jigeen Ni Academy), Africa's first music school dedicated exclusively to women.

Bouly Sonko was director of Senegal’s national ballet - La Ballet National du Senegal, from 1982 - 2004. For over three decades he led the company, presenting award-winning work at performance halls and arts festivals around the world. His internationally acclaimed work ‘Pangols’ - was described as an exploration of ‘the spiritual nature of all living things’ (New York Times). Bouly’s work is a landmark in the history of West African performing arts and has influenced generations to explore the deep cultural meaning within music, dance and theatre traditions.

Oumy Sene (dec.) is one of Senegal’s most respected guewel elders. She is a member of a council of high priestesses that preside over cultural ceremonies and a direct descendant of the Sing Sing lineage responsible for maintaining sabar drumming practices in Senegal. Oumy has a specific role in understanding and preserving the rhythmic knowledge and oral history of the Serer and Wolof traditions and its connection to cosmology and nature.

Pape Mbaye is a Guewel elder of the Lebou people from Yoff, a traditional fishing community in Dakar, Senegal. Through a lifetime of learning within his community, he has become a respected keeper of Lebou cultural knowledge, with deep understanding of spiritual and ceremonial traditions including the Ndeup healing ceremony and Sabar. His knowledge reflects the role these practices play in sustaining cultural identity, community connection and intergenerational knowledge transmission.

Doudou is a guewel and descendant of the Sing Sing clan, cultural elder and one of Senegal’s most respected percussionists. Dedicated to the practice of Sabar from an early age, he established one of the first sabar groups in Medina, Dakar and later joined the National Theatre of Senegal at age 16 where he working with the  traditional instrumental ensemble and later the ‘Ballet Sira Badral’. Over many decades he has taught and performed throughout Africa, Europe and South America.