Amoukanama Circus

Amoukanama has been created in 2017 with the aim of developing training in circus arts in Guinea, creating a future for young talent in the slums of Conakry, and building bridges through Circus.

With Amoukanama Circus, we strive to build a professional circus school in Guinea (under construction). For now, we invest in training materials (tumbling mat, safety lunge, handstand canes, juggling materials) and organize daily circus training in a youth center in Conakry. We offer structure to the training and have 3 groups of students depending on their level and years of experience.

Amoukanama also performs during events in Guinea and beyond. The team is Guinea advocates for Circus as well through performances during public events organized by the government and has taken part in an alliance of circus groups in Guinea.

We also work to bring circus into schools and festivals so that young children can come into contact with the circus arts and the possibility of a future therein. We partner up with several communities in projects where circus is a means to develop awareness about diversity and to get youngsters to move and reflect. We also work hard on our network in Europe and other parts of the world.

Objective

Overall, Amoukanama aims to be a bridge between Europe and Africa through the Circus arts. This is translated further into:

• providing a future as circus artist to motivated youngsters in the slums of Conakry;
• build our own international circus school in a geodesic dome near Conakry;
• organize exchange projects with youngsters from all over the world and educative circus workshops in Belgium;
• produce circus arts productions;
• look for encounters between styles, traditions, and art forms (parkour, circus, storytelling, theater...).

Activities

Our main activities are:

• organizing circus training for members (providing space, materials, and workshops);
• Support to insert in the professional world after the formation.
• Creation and international diffusion of new circus arts productions ;
• Exchange with other circus schools globally (for example Institut National des Arts du Music-hall (INM))
• Sensibilization about global citizenship (Project Wereldklapz, international workshops in Guinea, volunteers from abroad);
• education for members in Guinea (French and English classes);
• income-generating projects (Opening a local gym with a restaurant in Conakry)
• fundraising for the building of our own Circus Arts School in Guinea;
• workshops acrobatics, circus, and African dance in schools, during events, festivals, etc. in Belgium and in Guinea;
• Mobile theater project.

Learn more about this member

Direction

• Nathalie Vandenabeele: Co-founder & Project Manager
• Ballamoussa Bangoura: Co-founder & Secretary of Organization and Formation
• Alseny Sacko: Co-founder & President and Technical Coach
• Facinet Camara: Secretary of Social Affaires
• Moustapha Camara: Secretary of Administration
• Nfa Moussa Soumah: Advisor

Founded in 2017.

Location

Matam,
Conakry, Guinea