Epizo Bangoura (West Africa)

Epizo Banguara is one of Africa's leading percussionists and dance tutors.

As a griot he is respected historian, and considers it his responsibility to transmit his oral ancestral traditions through music: the drum, dance and chants.

A former member of the famous FATALA & KOTEBA ensembles of the Ivory Coast, West Africa, Epizo lived in both France and the USA before moving to Australia and has now added Japan to his list of residences. Performing for over twenty years, Epizo has also toured the world extensively, playing alongside such great artists as SALIF Keita, MORY Kante, DOUDOU N'diaye Rose, Mark Helias, Abdullah Ibrahim, Don Pullen, Ed Blackwell and Papa Ladje Camara.

Epizo is an exceptional tutor and is known for his exuberant choreographies, distinctive style and intricate movements. Often combing traditional with contemporary, he has worked with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, as well as conducting Drum & Dance intensives across the globe.

EPIZO immortalises his culture through his songs, music, dances and ancestral traditions and customs.