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Kenna-Camara Cottman started teaching West African dance when she got "the nod" from Youssouf Koumbassa, a master touring artist from Guinea. Kenna has been learning about West African dance from her family and community her entire life. Kenna is a member of Baato Askan Wii Drum and Dance in the Gambia, West Africa. Kenna has been trained in Sabar by Koto N'Gum, artistic director of Baato Askan Wii and curator of the traditional instrument gallery at the Gambian National Museum. Kenna has trained with a host of West African artists, such as William Atchouellou and Henriette Gbou of Cote D'Ivoire; Fode Moussa Camara and Mouminatou Camara of Guinee, Zalika Reid of Jamaica, Rich Baba Faye and Muse Sarr of Senegal, and Francis Kofi and Christian Adeti of Ghana.
Kenna-Camara Cottman has been dancing, studying, teaching and organizing in the Minneapolis area for over 20 years. Her main area of focus is Black Dance, with an emphasis on West African and Hip Hop dance and culture. Kenna teaches Hip Hop and West African concert dance at the University of MN: Thought & Motion, for WEWin Rites of Passage, and at BallareTeatro School of Dance. She is on the performing artist roster of COMPAS and Young Audiences of Minnesota, and teaches West African and Hip Hop dance to young people all over the state through school workshops and residencies. Kenna is working on choreography projects with James Sewell Ballet and YoungDance, and is the recipient of a Momentum 2011:New Dance Works production grant from the Southern Theater and the Walker Art Center. Kenna is the curator of Black Choreographers' Evening '03-'05 and African Nights 2010 at Patrick’s Cabaret. She has performed the work of Roxane Wallace, Leah Nelson, Aneka McMullen, and Morris Johnson - all Minnesota dance artists with national and international acclaim. Outside of her culture, Kenna works with cutting edge performers like Pramila Vasudevan and April Sellers. Kenna is also a principal dancer with Ananya Dance Theater. Kenna hails from a dynamic artistic family - gaining inspiration for her filmmaking from her father's photography (Bill Cottman), and learning her first dance steps from her multitalented mother ("Auntie" Beverly Cottman). Kenna Sarge is the mother of Yonci(12) and Ebrima(4).
Kenna-Camara Cottman is the Artistic Director of Voice of Culture Drum and Dance; an association of young artists who are dedicated to the preservation of West African arts and culture. Since 2008, Voice of Culture has created and performed contemporary drum and dance, and studied, performed and taught traditional West African drum and dance in our community. Our art is our offering to the creator, the ancestors and ourselves. Ashe! |