A PRVILEGED MOMENT AT L'ECOLE DES SABLES-JANT BI DE GERMAINE ACOGNY!

Jant Bi

Beautiful & blissful place vraiment

On my way with my bats

Car rapide

My Senegalese people will get it

La grace Africaine & de la Diaspora

Miss Teclaire @ work
www.lepagne.blogspot.com

It was beautiful

Kids playing on our way to Toubab Diallow

Senegalese tradional move

@ L'ecole des Sables

My friend beautiful dancer Fatou Samb was part of the show

Germaine Acogny embraced, loved by her students

Finally got the chance to meet Tata Fatime Faye, un amour de femme vraiment:)
Thank you for the sweet welcome

Go down.....

Germaine Acogny's formidable hubby w/her son Patrick

Miss Teclaire in love with the moment

Miss Ange Aoussou in the front w/the other beautiful performers

It felt like a privileged moment for us spectators, just for a moment our lives were put on pause and we were existing in the moment, being transported by the sensual and melodic way these African bodies were moving.
1,2,3,4,5....there were 43 free spirits sharing with us and that whether we were here or not the gifts of live they were given by the Allmighty. They were young women ,young men, young mothers, young fathers living in that one moment celebrating what took 3 months in the village of Toubab Diallow to learn the secrets and the philosophy of Germaine Acogny at her dance school or sanctuary if I may say the prestigious "L'ecole des sables".

Et pourtant, yes and yet, most of us in attendance were novice at lyrical dancing mixed with traditional dancing , we won't have the pretense to say that we understood exactly what each of their beautiful strong, delicate, sweet and not so sweet body movements meant BUT it meant something to me, it meant that we can all be what we want to be.

When I saw dancers like Ivoirian Ange Aoussou or british dancer Alessandra Seuti I was reminded of the gift that is the body , the gift that is to feel what we need to feel in the moment, the cadeau that is to dance in the moment.

I wasn't really surprised at the end of the show to see people crying, being moved by these dancers, their energy, no I understood that in just that one afternoon we were all one with these brave dancers. I say brave because I'm sure for dancers like Rachelle Goualy, Fatou Samb,Franck Bakekolo it wasn't necessarly easy to be accepted as an artist within the society, to say yes I want to move for a living , I want to move as a life purpose. The fight for this freedom wasn't clear as summer sky I presume. No! but here they are showing through this atelier lead by Germaine Acogny, Patrick Acogny, Nora Chaupemire, Mr Fo that yes they can.

My friend writer and blogger Teclaire who kindly invited me on this journey (I'm forever thankful sista vraiment)& I couldn't stop talking about our emotions on our way back to Dakar.We fell in love with the school, the peace and beautiful sense of serenity and spirituality that we were breathing as we were tincturing ourselves of this experience.

That afternoon, dance ,peace,friendship , spirituality were complimenting each other. We could tell that even though these performers worked their hard butts off (cos you know their bodies are solid as rocks..ouhhhhI envy them lol) they became friends, they learned about each other .
At the end of the showcase each student was to introduce him or herself and the country that they represented and it was pure joy hearing them shout out "BURKINA FASSO", "KENYA", "TCHAD", "BRAZIL", or "GUINEA EQUATORIAL" with so much pride, there were 20 nations represented..and just as they were basking themselselves in that one moment of pride it dawned me that they were world ambassadors, YES wherever these beautiful dancers will get the chance to perform they will represent and really stand for their people..so don't let anyone tell you that arts don't mean anything..it means EVERYTHING.

Don't believe me pray Allah to be given the chance to spend an afternoon at l'ecole des Sables de Germain Acogny:)
Praying to be invited again.....

Fabulafricainement yours,

PS: Teclaire you rock sista...thank u, thank u ,diarama soulsista:)
Check her out @ www.lepagne.blogspot.com

www.jantbi.org
You can watch some students from UCLA learning @ L'Ecole des sables, HERE

Yaye

TALATA WEDDING COUTURE PAPETERIE BY GHANAIAN ENTREPRENEUR TALATA MALDIMAL PROVENCAL!

NiceSimple & pretty

I really like this yellow/grey contrast

Not Bad

Mandarine & apple

Elegant

I'm in love with pretty papeterie,beautiful stationary work ..yes I'm girly like that:)
I guess I'm not the only one because Talata made it her business to escort you during your wedding preparations w/beautiful invitation cards to send out to your guests.
Talata pays attention to each detail regarding your "perfect day" from your color theme, to the specifics abt your location..bref she wants you to feel special.
Some of the products you can order via her webbie are: wedding favors,hardcore photo books, wedding webbies,and of course handmade invitation cards.
It's a pretty thing a Fabulafricana with a beautiful project..so support our Ghanaian sista:)

www.talatacouture.com

Djaa my Ghanaian sistas sont dedans:)
Eyeee Wayeee:)

INTERVIEW WITH MODEL & ACTRESS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE VEIL, HALIMATA IXA GRAILLE!

Let's travel along the Niger river shall we:) In the past,on this blog we haven't travel much to that part of the world but I hope that through the eyes of the very beautiful & elegant Halimata Ixa Graille we'll get to do just that. I saw this fabulafricana of the tribe of "the people of the veil"(Touareg) while watching the FIMA Festival last year and I was struck by her facial bone structure, the mystery behind her eyes, & that brin of je- ne sais quoi that emanates from her. Xalimata was born to the Touareg tribe (nomadic berber tribe) in Niger which has the highest population of Twareg people in the world.(will do a post about Twaregs in the future) So there it is through this interview I hope you'll get to know a little bit of who she is, her love for her daughter, her pride to be a world representant of the Touareg people through her modelling and acting career:)
*Design by the fabulous Paul Herve Elisabeth
Let's goo:)
1/Qui es tu? Who is Halimata Ixa Graille?
Je suis Halimata, femme du monde. J’entends née dans une culture et ayant grandi dans une autre, et qui enfin a voyagé à travers le mode en 3 mots : Nomade dans l’âme
I am Halimata a woman of the word born in a culture ,raised in another one, a nomade to the core.

2/Tu es touareg, peux tu nous parler un peu de cette culture?
As a woman of Touareg tribe, could you describe some of your traditions?
Oui je suis Touareg. Mon père est Ifforas et ma mère était Kélouli.
La place de la femme, dans la société touaregue me plaît beaucoup.
C’est une société matriacale, je souhaite juste que la religion ne change pas les choses à ce sujet. Le divorce est autorisé et madame prend tout:) lol
Yes I am Touareg, my father is Ifforas and my mother was Kelouli. Women's place within my culture is quite important,it's a matriarchal society & for example in case of a divorce,the woman can pretty much have all right to all material possessions.

3/Comment perçois tu ton ethnie et le reste du monde?
How do you perceive your tribe and how do you see the rest of the world?
Le monde est riche…Je le perçois comme des contrées que je n’ai pas encore exploiter; je pense à l’Inde, l’Amérique du Sud. Mais il me semble que les sociétés occidentales se « sont perdues » dans leur système consommation de masse, internet… Les gens sont seuls, ne communiquent plus, la solidarité et l’humanité disparaissent.
Quant à mon ethnie dans tout ça… Et bien je suis fière de constater, qu’elle reste solidaire et chaleureusement humaine et qu’elle tente tant bien que mal de garder son identité, ses coutumes…mais jusqu’à quand ?
The world is vaste..for me the world represents countries I have yet to visit. I think of India, South America but at the same time the Western society has lost itself within the consumption system (internet,mass media ect) people tend to be lonely,they don't communicate enough, there's no sense of solidarity or humanity.
I'm proud of my culture, I'm proud to see that my tribe managed to stay united "warm",and that we try as much as we can to keep our identity...but for how long?:)

3/Comment es tu tomber ds le mannequinat?
How did you fall in the world of modelling?
A la base c’était un rêve de petite fille.
Enfant, je faisais des défilés à la maison.
Ensuite à 18 ans je travaillais comme serveuse, et la directrice de NOVA mag , qui déjeunait souvent dans le restau, m’a demander de faire une couverture.
It used be a little girl dream, I used to play model at home. At 18 years old, I was waitressing and the director of the magazine NOVA who used to lunch there asked me to do a cover..and the rest is history.

4/Qu'est ce que cela t'a apporter? How did your career affect your life?
Tant de choses ! Je suis devenue polyglote, j’ai visité 22 pays environ, j’ai rencontrer plein plein de gens interressant et autant moins . Ca m’a ouverte encore plus l’esprit…
It brought me so many things, I've been able to visit around 22 countries, I've met tones and tones of interesting people , it has def' broaden my horizons.

5/Tu me sembles très engagée "Afrique" pourquoi?U seem to be quite socially engaged with everything Africa why?
Parce que j’ai eu 2 la chance, de sortir du continent, de voir le monde.
Et sans être une militante forcenée, ça me déchire le cœur de voir que le continent ne tient toujours pas tout seul debout. On continue à être dépendant de l’occident….malgré 50 ans d’indépendance. J’aimerais beaucoup que les africains soient plus unis.
Simply because I've been lucky to travel outside of the continent that is still trying to stand. We are still dependent on the western world...and that 50 years after we celebrated our "independence". I would love for us Africans to be united.

6/Il me semble que tu as participer a un film qui s'appelle Le Dernier Vol, peux tu nous en dire plus? Can you tell us some more in your acting work in the movie"Le Dernier Envol"?
C’est un long métrage de Karim Dridi, avec Guillaume Cannet et Marion Cotillard. Je suis la fille du chef touareg qui a une histoire avec Guillaume Cannet. C’était belle expérience et c’est mon second long métrage.
It's directed by Karim Dridi, with Guillaume Canner ,Oscar winner Marion Cotillard. I play the role of the daughter of the touareg chef who shares a love story with the personage of Guillaume Cannet.This is my second movie role.

7/Aimeras-tu continuer a faire du cinéma?Would you like to pursue an acting career ?
J’aurai bien aimé, mais pas simple d’avoir un agent à Niamey ;)
I would love to even though it's not easy finding an agent in Niamey:)

8/Quels sont tes designers africain préfères? Who are some of your fav' African designers?
Il ya du monde : Alphadi, Mickael Kra, XULY BET, Eric Raisina, Mariko Kadi, Salah Barka, Mariam Diop…

9/Comment s'est passer l'édition 2009 du festival d'alphadi?How was your participation to the 2009 FIMA Festival?
Elle était bien ! It was great!

10/À quoi ressemble une journée dans ta vie? What's a day in your life?
Ah Ah…je vais casser le mythe là J’emmène ma fille à l’école, je fais mon marché, je travaille sur mes projets, ensuite je récupère mon enfant… en suite les après midi, je visite la famille, ou activité avec ma puce.
Ah Ah ..people will be surprised to hear that I take my daughter to school, I go to the market, I work on my personal projects then I go back to get her from school..during my afternoons I visit my family or do stuff with my baby.

11/Le Niger est connu comme étant une société traditionnelle comment le vis tu? Being that tradition is such a big thing to your country, how do you deal with that?
C’est vraiment pas simple… surtout concernant les femmes , surtout les jeunes femmes.
Alors je prends la patience…ce qui n’est pas trop mon fort j’avoue, mais je progresse
It's not easy, not easy at all mostly regarding the young girls but I try to remain patient ..even though patience is not my forte..

12/Si je devais venir à Niamey ou m'emmènerais tu pour que je passe un bon moment?
If I was to visit you in Niamey where would you take me?
Alors je te demanderai tes envies , et tes gout surtout : mais je pense que nous passerions l’après midi à boire du thé sous la tente, dans la famille.
Puis pour l’apéro je t’emmène manger des brochettes en bord de fleuve au grand hotel, pour le restau, je t’emmèneai à l’Alizé et nous resterions après pour dansé ;)
I would first of all ask you about your likes and dislikes , but I think that we would spend the afternoon drinking thea under the tent with my family.
Then for cocktail hour we would go eat some brochettes under the fleuve au Grand Hotel, for a great restaurant outing I would take you to l'Alize where we would finish off the night dancing.

13/Quel est ton tempérament?What's your personality like?
Je suis une passionnée, avec une grande sensibilité. J’aime beaucoup rire, c’est mon médicament face à l’adversité.I am a passionate person with a great sense of sensibility, I love laughing it's my remedy against difficulties.

14/Il ya t'il des gens de ton pays que tu aimerais que le monde connaisse plus?Are there some great talents in your country you would like people to find out more about?
Oui mon oncle Rissa Ixa, peintre et fervent défenseur de la culture touareg, Nadia Paris, une jeune artiste peintre bourré de talent !!!
Mariko Kadi une styliste qui gagne a être connu, et des artistes comme Mali Yaro, Idi Sarki…
Yes people like my uncle Rissa Ixa, a painter and a defender of the touareg culture, Nadia Paris a talented artist ,Mariko Kadi a great designer and artists like Mali Yaro, Idi Sarki

*Painting by Nadia Paris

15/ Pratiques tu la religion, qu'est ce que ca t'apporte?
What religion do you practice and what does it bring to your life?
Je suis née musulmane, j’ai été un court temps à l’école corannique, puis en France j’ai demander à aller au cathéchisme, par curiosité.
Mais je pratique aucune religion, pour le moment je me cherche encore à ce niveau.
I was born Muslim and went for a short time at the Coranic school , while I lived in France I chose to study catechism by curiosity.At the moment I do not practice any religion I'm still trying to find my way.

16/Comment te vois-tu dans 5 ans?Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Je ne sais pas de quoi est fait demain, et j’ai appris que rien n’est acquis dans la vie.*
I don't know what my life will be like tomorrow and I've learned that there are no guarantees in life

17/Quelle est ta devise dans la vie?What's your motto in life?
Demain est un autre jour !!Tomorrow is another day

18/Qu’est ce que la beauté t'inspire?What does beauty inspire in you?
Je suis très sensible à la beauté des gens, des choses, mais pour les êtres si la beauté de l’âme n’est pas au RDV, la beauté physique n’a pas d’éclat.
I'm very sensitive to physical beauty but if we're not pretty on the inside then the physical beauty in u doesn't shine.

19/De quoi es tu certaine dans la vie?What do you know for sure in life.?
A part de l’amour des miens, de rien !!!
Apart from the love of my loved ones, of nothing:)

Thank you Halimata, thank you for sharing your zen and sweet personality as well as your Touareg heritage with us.
We Fabulafricanas of the world are wishing you the very best in all your future projects and hope to see you in some great beauty and ad editorials as well on the small & big screen, Inch'Allah:)

By the way you can see the trailer for "Le Dernier Vol", HERE

Djaa les gos du Niger sont fierceee dee:)
Eyeee Wayee:)