Patrick Acogny
Choreographer, teacher and dancer, researcher specializing in contemporary and traditional African dance techniques, Patrick Acogny began dancing at the age of 23. He first trained in Europe (notably in Belgium and France) before completing his training in Africa (Mali and Senegal). Fascinated by African dances and the work of his mother Germaine Acogny, he worked as a dancer with Tassembédo Irène and other French contemporary dance companies. In the 1990s, he danced for companies in France then, in 1995, he was entrusted with the artistic direction of one of the largest Afro-Caribbean dance companies in the United Kingdom: Kokuma dance Theater in Birmingham. In 2001, he returned to France, became involved in numerous dance schools and gave numerous master classes in France and abroad. In 2005, he began teaching at the Ecole des Sables of Germaine Acogny and Helmut Vogt. He became deputy artistic director in 2007 and artistic director in 2014. He choreographs for the two dance companies Jant-Bi Hommes and Jant-Bi femmes, the two companies of the School. Having become a freelancer, he regularly gives internationally renowned conferences on African dances, practices and their stories. He holds a Doctorate from the University of Paris 8 and two Masters, one in Paris 8 and the other obtained in London, at Middlesex University.
