Dancer and choreographer Anssumane Sillá was born and raised in Guinea Bissau and moved to Philadelphia in 2008.

A distinguished African-born dancer, drummer and choreographer, Anssumane Sillá, will offer a West African dance workshop this Saturday (March 25) at The Children’s Community School (1212 S. 47th St).

Sillá, a Guinea Bissau native, began performing at the age of 11 and danced professionally with the National Ballet of Guinea Bissau for almost 20 years. He moved to Philadelphia in 2008 and since then has toured the U.S. with the Voices of Africa Drum Ensemble, choreographed for the Kùlú Mèlé African Dance Ensemble, and taught numerous workshops and classes on both traditional West African and contemporary dance styles. 

The artist has also been working on establishing a bridge between West Philadelphia and West African artists. His new initiative is to create a global immersion of music and dance from West Philly to West Africa. The program includes a series of trips for local students to Guinea Bissau so that they can learn music and dance from his teachers, principal choreographers of the Ballet Nacional de Guinea-Bissau, Luis Morgado and Jaquelina Ramos Camara. The first trip is planned for June 2017, and by the year of 2018, it is planned to establish an annual dance intensive.

The program is currently in its fundraising stage, with the goal to raise $5,500. For more information, go to its GoGetFunding page.

Saturday’s workshop will be held from 3:30 – 5 p.m. and will be followed by West African food tasting and student performances. Tickets are $20 for the workshop and $30 for the entire event (see the flier below for more info). Childcare will be provided. To reserve your ticket, email to: west2westhomecoming@gmail.com