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Abdoulaye Sylla, master dancer and drummer from Guinea, West Africa, has been delighting students and audiences alike for more than 20 years with his energetic style and infectious smile. He began dancing professionally while still a youngster, winning numerous regional and national dance competitions in his country.
 Abdoulaye was a principal dancer and percussionist with Les Ballets Africains, the national dance troupe of the Republic of Guinea, from 1989 to 1994 and a principal dancer, percussionist, and the director of technique for Les Merveilles D'Afrique, a private folkloric troupe which trains dancers for the national company, from 1986 through 1994. He has performed on many of the great stages of the world and has toured and taught traditional dance throughout Africa, Europe, and the United States.
 In 1994 Abdoulaye relocated to the United States. He has taught and performed at dozens of schools, churches, theaters, community centers, colleges, and cultural festivals.
Abdoulaye Sylla has been the Co-Owner and Artistic Director of One World Arts Exchange since 1994. In this role he presented workshops, classes, performances, and residencies to schools, libraries, residential programs, churches, and other community groups in the US and abroad. Abdoulaye incorporates a message of unity and respect into all of his programs. While in Connecticut, he was also the Artistic Director of his own performing company, Fotoba. He also served as a visiting professor at Trinity College and on the faculty of the Artists' Collective for 15 years. He has worked extensively with numerous Afrocentric folkloric groups, such as Sankofa Kuumba, Ballet Bagata, and the Bamidele Dancers and Drummers. He was a Master Teaching Artist with the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism and served as one their HOT Schools instructors; HOT Schools integrate the arts and education to enable students to develop Higher Order Thinking Schools. Abdoulaye has developed a specialty working with children in placement who have suffered emotional and physical trauma.
Abdoulaye relocated to Seattle in 2009. He is currently available for workshops, residencies, dance classes, drum classes, performances, and choreography.
References are available upon request.
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