Les Ballets Africains making a return to Utah

The world-renowned dance company Les Ballets Africains has completed four U.S. tours since it last visited Utah. Saturday night, the group will return to Salt Lake City after a decade-long absence.

"We haven't been to Salt Lake for a long time — at least 10 years," Africains production manager Tim Speechley said by phone while riding on a bus somewhere near Richmond, Va.

"The company is really happy to be coming back," he said. "It's a beautiful city with the mountains. We've been to the U.S. four times since then, and every time we'd plan a tour, the dancers would ask about coming back to Salt Lake."

While in Utah, the company will perform "Mandinka Memories," a new work that centers on the themes of heritage and reflection of accomplishments. The performance is part of the University of Utah's Black Awareness Month activities.

Performing "Mandinka Memories" and other works from the group's repertoire is a great opportunity to expose people to African culture, Speechley said.

The work was choreographed by Africains artistic director Hamidou Bangoura, who became interested in the Mandinka people of West Africa while on a trip to Mali about four years ago, Speechley said. "He went to a museum and was very impressed with (the folklore) and decided to learn more about it."

"Mandinka Memories" is based on the folk story of Queen Sogolon Conde and her son, Soundiata Keita, who was born paralyzed. The work follows Keita who, according to legend, miraculously regained the power to walk and later went on to become a skilled hunter and revered 13th-century warrior king.

According to Speechley, the production consists of large-ensemble celebration dances that feature vibrant costumes depicting various African animals. There is also a re-enactment of the battle in which Keita defeats Soumaoro Kante, one of the most feared kings in medieval Mali.

While most of the other works in the company's repertoire are about music and movement, "'Mandinka Memories' is a real kind of start-to-finish story," Speechley said. It will unfold through traditional dance, acrobatics and music. "It's classic Guinea style."

Les Ballets Africains' dances "are mainly traditional," he said. "It's a large dance company of about 30 people performing traditional African dancing based on (Guinea) heritage. It's very lively and energetic."