Balafon West African Dance Ensemble

Balafon West African Dance Ensemble creates enriching opportunities to experience the joyful spirit of traditional West African dance, culturally rooted and centered on the contributions of women. 

Founded in 1997 in Washington, D.C. by Mama Kadiatou Conte — a dancer, director, and cultural ambassador who trained and performed with Guinea's national dance companies — Balafon has spent nearly 30 years passing on these living traditions, from rec centers to the Kennedy Center.

Balafon became a formal 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Pittsburgh in 2010, where it has grown into one of the region's leading African arts organizations helping audiences of all backgrounds reconnect and gain a greater appreciation for the living traditions of the historic Mali Empire and Senegambia — primarily from Guinea and Senegal today — through performances, community classes, and workshops. 

Recognized as a Pittsburgh Cultural Treasure, Balafon is guided by the values of community, creative spirit, excellence, freedom & well-being, and heritage as it carries this legacy forward for the next generation.