aminata toure

[bubudi]

aminata toure (aka m'mi) is one of the best young dancers coming out of guinea. she grew up in the artistic district of matam, in conakry. as a young girl she practiced alongside ballet matam. at the age of 10 she joined ballet sourakhata, in which she remained for 8 years. she worked with soriba simbo camara (now in usa) and fanta yayo, becoming very well known in conakry.

in 2007 aminata was one of five dancers recruited from hundreds of guinean dancers by the circus dance company afrika! afrika! in germany. they were hand picked by georges momboye. since then she has performed more than 350 shows across europe. she is now located in brussels, belgium, where she teaches and performs.

[michi]

Man, that's impressive. Unbelievable energy. My one concern is what that woman's body will be like when she's 40. I expect that, much like for many female gymnasts, there will be problems down the line from all the excessive wear and tear at a young age...

Cheers,

Michi.

[Paul]

Im off to Belgium

[e2c]

Man, that's impressive. Unbelievable energy. My one concern is what that woman's body will be like when she's 40.

Or 30. Professional dancers (Western, in ballet and modern styles) are constantly dealing with injuries - if you're a dance fan, you know that there's an injured/substitute list posted for every performance by any ballet/modern company, and you look at that to see if you really want to ante up for a ticket. (Sometimes the subs are really incredible.)

But this style - so incredibly percussive - has real dangers. I was literally cringing during the segment where she's going all out on a concrete floor. (Pounding so hard on knees, ankles, back, hips, bones and tendons in feet and legs, possible stress fractures and torn ligaments - gah!!!)

I mean no disrespect, but chances are pretty good that she will soon be choreographing and coaching rather than performing. Very few Western pros last past 30-35 as full-time performers. With this style - especially in the way she does it - I'd give her even less time.

Do I love her energy? You bet! But that video was hard to watch, because she has to be paying for it right now, in a way that's going to catch up with her. (If it hasn't already.)

[komadich]

Very few Western pros last past 30-35 as full-time performers.

Actually, this is true for the performers on competitions and for the ballet dancers. But in the African dance you don't need to conform to any standard movement and you can take it easy, if you like. I've seen quite some African dancers performing on concerts and giving workshops in their mid 40s.