A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #
D'Abidjan, Yelemba
The Yelemba group was created in 1994 in Abidjan. Today it is composed of 26 professional artists from different ethnic groups from the Ivory Coast. Their leader, Lassina Coulibaly, is a musician himself and he takes part in all the shows of his group. Lassina, age 33, was initiated by great Ivorian, Guinean and Burkinabese masters. He has managed to gather a number of young high-level artists around him: they take an active part in the organization and management of the group. Working between tradition and modernity, the Yelemba group keeps the spirit of West African ballets. Djembés, doundoums, atoublas, balafons, boloyes, traditional songs and dances, typical Ivorian masks, Yelemba's repertoire is rich and varied. The rhythms, songs and dances belonging to the Sénoufo, Guéré, Yacouba, Gouro, as well as the Mandingue traditions are always present in the different productions of the group.