West African Dance, Yoga & Sound Healing

Return to your roots in this yoga and African dance event.This event will begin with a root chakra focused yoga warmup leading into uplifting West African dance taught by Jean-Claude Lessou, accompanied by live drums. African dance involves a low gravity center to ground and connect us to the rooted support of rhythmic earth energy. We will end with a relaxing and restorative sound bath meditation to soothe the body and integrate the resounding vibrational cadence of the spirited movement.

Jean-Claude was born and raised in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in West Africa. He began dancing professionally at age 15, and performed with the Dante Theater Company for five years before touring the U.S. as principal dancer with Ballet Jolem. He produced a special event for children at the Kennedy Center, performing masked dances from his own village. During the past 10 years, he taught at Lisangua Ya Bato Dance and Drum Camp in Woodstock, New York and worked with students and faculty at Goddard College, Saint Michael’s College, Middlebury College and Norwich University in Vermont. For the past three years, he has choreographed and taught classes at “Africa in the Ozarks”, a West African dance camp in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. He was also the lead choreographer for the Lannaya West African Drum and Dance Ensemble in Austin. Today he works regularly with high schools and dance studios around Austin to choreograph professional and student performances. He leads his African Dance company, Afrique Gninze in performances throughout Texas.  He teaches West African classes on Tuesday nights at Ballet Austin. On Saturday afternoons he teaches drumming and dance classes outside of the Long center.

Jennifer Guillory is an Austin and Tantra based yoga teacher, sound and song therapist, musician/dancer and tantric sex educator. She is a member of Afrique Gninze, Jean Claude’s West African Dance company in Austin. She also sings with Jean Claude in his Afro-rock band, System Positif.

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