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Koite’s Malian Masterpieces Live on Radio
ABU DHABI - From 'Cigarette a Bana' (The Cigarette is finished), his first African hit, to 'Ma Ya', the album that took the world by storm, Habib Koite has become one of the most heard and admired voices internationally of Malian music.
- PUBLISHED: Mon 4 Jan 2010, 11:03 PM UPDATED: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 2:20 PM
For the first time, his voice will also be heard live in Abu Dhabi on January 21, as part of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) world music season.
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Descendant from a noble line of Khassonké griots (village messengers and troubadours), Koite has grown up in a family of musicians.
From an early age he learnt the guitar just by watching his parents. He went on to study music and in 1988 Koite formed his first band, Bamada (a nickname for residents of Bamako that roughly translates “in the mouth of the crocodile”).
Solo or with his band, Koite went on to build a strong and highly successful career in music and it is with Bamada that he will perform in Abu Dhabi.
This West-African concert at the Cultural Foundation will be followed, on January 24 and 25, by the fiery rhythms of flamenco, which will accompany the equally fiery dancer Joaquin Cortes.
A classically trained ballet dancer, Cortes comes from a gypsy family of Spanish Cordoba. After touring the world with the Spanish National Ballet, he returned to his roots and formed the Joaquín Cortés Flamenco Ballet company, which fused classical ballet with flamenco and modern dance.
Known for his stamina and athleticism, Cortes is one of those rare dancers that push the body movements to the limit. No wonder, he very quickly became an international star both on stage and on movie sets.
Perhaps, there is no other show than ‘Cale’ that best reflects his talent and success, as it was conceived as a journey through the forms of flamenco, but it also celebrates the best of his works over the past 20 years. And it is ‘Cale’ that Cortes and his fellow 40 dancers will present at the Emirates Palace Auditorium here.
Later in February, there will be yet another star, another tune and another dance vibrating from the Abu Dhabi Theatre this time (on the Breakwater).
Considered one of the world’s top contemporary choreographers, Akram Khan has partnered with ADACH to present here a two-year international co-production reflecting the artistic heritage of the Middle East.