On Sunday we were treated to a private show at Yaya Coulibaly's house. Yaya is a puppeteer who has an internationally renowned troupe, and whose work inspired the artistic direction for the Broadway production of Lion King. Yaya’s philosophy is that art and cultural exchange is the only way to survive and prosper as a human race. He’s saddened with the idea that with the present economic and political situations around the world, art will surely be the first victim. Thus he says by practicing and mastering a technique, as well as meeting other artists, it is possible to keep these traditions alive, and to even make money at it! It was a very moving speech, and after seeing his performance, I understand what he means.
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| An anteloupe puppet. It came so close I got to pet it! |
After seeing the performance, it's not hard to see the link between this and the Lion King production. Yaya has been in this work since he was little, and learned it from his father. He tries to represent all people, every animal, and many other things with his work, and whenever he makes a puppet, he makes two! One to stay at home and one to travel with his work. If this video below every loads you'll get a first hand look at our private viewing. I'll try to upload more later.
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| Sekou Kamara and Yaya Coulibaly |
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