African Voices 2026

11:00 – 13:00 | Dance with Tiéblé “Vieux” Diarra | Onassis Stegi

The class will teach Sogolon, a dance linked with the Bozo and Somono communities in Mali, settled along the Niger River and historically associated with fishing. It belongs to fôli practices, meaning music and dance ensembles that form part of social life and collective expression.

The dance is connected to water, and the cycle of life on the river, as well as to practices of collaboration and collective activity. Similar practices are also found on islets of the Niger in Bamako, where communities live and work.

The class is open to all bodies and all levels of experience.

13:30 – 15:30 | Dance with Fatim Berthe | Onassis Stegi

The class will teach kamanjan, a rhythm and dance from the Mandé region of Mali. Its name is associated with Kamanjan, a farmer known for his distinctive dance.

The rhythm is linked to work, agricultural life, and collective movement. The song refers to Kamanjan and the rhythm of his labor, carried through musical and dance elements that evoke memory, everyday life, and community.

The class is open to all bodies and all levels of experience.

17:30–19:00 | Kids workshop with “Omada Aeriko” | Pedion tou Areos park

The workshop is intended for children, with a maximum of 25 participants. It is run by “Omada Aeriko.”

Through music and movement activities, songs from different regions of the African continent, and simple choreography, children engage with rhythm, movement, and collective expression. At the same time, they participate in creating a collective visual artwork, strengthening collaboration and imagination.

The workshop also includes storytelling, creating a space for listening, participation, and creative play.

19:00 | AFRICAN VOICES: THE VOICES OF COMMUNITIES | “Who We Are Today” | Pedion tou Areos park

19:00–21:00
Opening Remarks

19:00–19:15
Gerasimos Makris, Professor at Panteion University

19:15–19:30
Aimilios Tsekenis, Associate Professor at University of the Aegean

Community Panels

19:30–20:15
1st Panel
Mali, Senegal, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone

20:15–21:00
2nd Panel
Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Congo, and Burkina Faso

The interventions will take place in the form of discussion and Q&A sessions moderated by Vasiliki Mavridis.

Live interpretation/translation will be available throughout the event.

21:00 | Scorpio Qveen b2b Le Lion [STEGI.RADIO] (dancehall, house) | Pedion tou Areos park

10:30–12:30 | Dance with Tiéblé “Vieux” Diarra and Fatim Berthe | Onassis Stegi

The class will teach suku and farabakan, two dance practices often presented together in Bamako’s contemporary urban context.

Suku is a social dance that invites collective participation and is open to everyone. It is danced at celebrations and social occasions and is connected to the idea of shared movement. Its kinesiology draws on the movement of horses and creates an aesthetic concerned with common presence and the sharing of rhythm.

Farabakan is connected to the Wassoulou region in southern Mali and to Fulani communities, forming part of a broader set of music and dance practices from the region.

In Bamako, these two practices have been incorporated into shared teaching and performance contexts for around four decades, presented in sequence. Their coexistence is connected to the formation of national and urban ballets from the 1960s onward, as well as to processes of transferring and reframing local practices within stage and educational contexts.

The class is open to all bodies and all levels of experience.

12:30–14:30 | Percussion with Toumany Diawara | Onassis Stegi

The class will teach tansole (aka danzolé), a rhythm from Mali found both in contemporary urban environments and in stage and teaching contexts.

Danzolé took shape within the framework of national and urban ballets after the 1960s, through the combination of movement and rhythmic elements from different practices. Its name is connected to the characteristic use of bent knees in the movement.

Some of these elements are related to practices connected with marabouts, spiritual figures who held an important role and influence within communities. In its stage form, these elements have been transferred and reframed, acquiring a new performative dimension.

The class focuses on the study of rhythm through the djembe and dunun instruments, with an emphasis on collective listening, synchronization, and the relationship between the individual rhythmic voices.

The class is open to all bodies and all levels of experience.

19:00 | Kélenya Band & Friends | Musical Director: Toumany Diawara | Pedion tou Areos park

19:00–19:45 | Pt. 1 | Vocals, balafon, and ngoni: Jane Njeri Kiigi Mwaura, Jeffrey Diop, Ismaël Camara, Toumany Diawara

19:45–21:30 | Pt. 2 | Percussion, vocals, and dance: Toumany Diawara, Daouda Conteh, Ndioba Ngom, Ismaël Camara, Yorro Keita, Jeffrey, Fatim Berthe, Tiéblé “Vieux” Diarra

21:30 | Sisso & Maiko [Live] [STEGI.RADIO] (singeli, global club) | Pedion tou Areos park