the meaning of masabo    welcome to west africa    quick notes about côte d'ivoire    about fana soro   
about the senoufo people    about traditional music    about traditional dance    about masks   
about the balafon    about the instruments    about oral traditions    about textiles and costumes   
school performance repertoire    masks - music & dance    learning activities    learning links   

    

Fana's first dancing role as a king

Thank you note from the students

Fana learns to play the borôrô in the National Ballet

Fana's first concert with the National Ballet in 1983 at the Hotel Ivoire

Concert in Abijan

The National Ballet on tour in France in 1985

The National Ballet on tour in Germany in 1985

(Nabeh's "workshop" & Nabeh with balafons in the village)

Fana Soro is Senoufo from Solognougo, a village close to the borders of Mali and Burkina Faso, in the northern Côte d'Ivoire. Fana's father, Zié Soro, was the village chief and also "balafola," a master xylophone player. At the age of 7, Fana began following in the footsteps of his father and began studying the balafon under the instruction of renowned balafola, Nabeh Coulibaly. By age 11, Fana was performing as a soloist at community social gatherings, festivals and ceremonies. At 17, he entered the Ballet National de Côte d'Ivoire and began his formal career as a professional artist. He spent 9 years touring internationally with the Ballet before taking his talents to Norway. Fana toured extensively throughout Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and the Farøe Islands with a great majority of his performances being in public schools. He was the Artist in Residence for 7 years with the famous Norwegian International Museum for Children's Art. In 1997, he immigrated to Canada and is thrilled to share his culture with North American audiences. He is a proud Ivoirien, an intriguing Senoufo man, and an extremely interesting, gracious human being.

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