COBA's objective of preserving and promoting the finest traditions of African, Caribbean Indigenous Folk and Contemporary dance and music through research, education and performance not only extends to our audiences, but also to the Collective; Sharing traditional aesthetics and values as resources for interracial co-operation, cross-cultural education, and societal goodwill.
COBA Collective Of Black Artists, founded in 1993, is a group of professional artists dedicated to the creation and production of dance and music while preserving cultural traditions of the African Diaspora. In its early years, COBA focused on dance education, beginning with school programmes performed in several grade, high schools, and collegiates in the Greater Toronto Area. With the success of these programmes the Collective launched its Mainstage production, "Saraca, Dances for the Soul" at the Music Gallery, May 4 - 6, 1994. The positive response to this production sparked COBA to recognize that the Toronto community was hungry for works from and influenced by the African Diaspora.
Since 1994, COBA presented eight Seasons of Dance and Music; Collaborated with eight guest artists and commissioned four works. 'Bantaba', choreographed by Linda Faye Johnson represented the first full-length West African production by a professional Toronto-based performance company, while 'Hommage à Erzulie' and 'Transe' by Jeanguy Saintus introduced Canadian audiences to Haitian dance beyond Voodoun. Alassane Sarr of Senegal and Sister Robin Hibbert, the creators of 'Mandiani/Doun Doun Ba', continues to educate Toronto communities on the aesthetics of Djembe dancing from the Sene-Gambia region through master classes, workshops and lectures, hosted by the Collective.
COBA's Artistic Co-founders, Charmaine Headley and BaKari B. Lindsay, creates a body of work which represents African Diasporic Canadian realities along with rich Caribbean Indigenous Folklore, which is the foundation of the collective's repertoire. All of these enable the Collective to achieve its objective of elevating the artistic perspective of works from the African Diaspora.
For more information, please contact Dance Umbrella of Ontario (416) 504-6429 ext. 22 or duo@danceumbrella.net
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