Photo by Vaughn Williams
“What is in a name? In gourounsi, my mother tongue, the word for family is "buudou." My current research has led me to revisit family lore and myth to learn how we journeyed from Badoo to Badolo...This dance honors my past, present, and future family.”
Souleymane Badolo traces the journey of his great-greatgrandfather, the lessons his father taught him, and the responsibility to passon these values to his own son in Buudou, BADOO, BADOLO. In a meditative, newwork in progress developed at MTA, he emphasizes nature and bodies clothed innatural materials such as grass, leaves, and clay.
“I truly appreciate his commitment to innovation, ritual, culture, and personal narrative. He is the real deal.” – Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, choreographer
“thoughtful, as if dancing were a private examination of experience” – Village Voice
About the Artists
Choreographer and dancer Souleymane ‘Solo’ Badolo was bornin Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. His Burkina Faso-based troupe, Kongo Ba Téria,fuses traditional African dances with western contemporary dance and toursinternationally. He received the Juried Bessie Award in 2012 and teachescontemporary dance at Bennington College.
Souleymane Badolo’s residency is made possible through apartnership with Danspace Project.