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When the music, the dance and the poetry bring us all together, the message is always that "we are all connected, our fates are ultimately inseparable, and the help we give becomes the help we get.”
World Music... Spoken Word... Global Citizenship... limitless possibilities
The SENEGAL-AMERICA PROJECT is an expandable, up-close-and-personal model for practicing the most essential and obvious principle of human interactions, which is that we are all connected. The primary goal of the project is to bring people together in meaningful collaborations that create transformational responses to what we share of common issues and common ground. The SENEGAL-AMERICA PROJECT has grown from the initial collaboration between Tony and Massamba Diop, into a network of musicians, teachers, social activists, film makers and health care professionals. With the help of partnerships with institutions and individuals, they've done recordings, helped build and staff a new school, donated 2750 mosquito nets, held free diabetes screenings and follow-ups treatment, and much more.
During the past fourteen years Massamba Diop and Tony Vacca have been bringing together the traditions of their music and the peoples of their countries. They've created two CDs ("Rhythm Griots" and "The Senegal-America Project"), a video documentary on their work, and sixteen U.S. tours in support of the Senegal-America Project.
Current performance formats for the Senegal-America Project range from two to eight performers, often including dancer/drummer Abdou Sarr, electric violinist/percusssionist Derrik Jordan, bassists Jo Sallins and Avery Shapre, poets Tantra Zawadi, Mamadou Ndiaye, and Paul Richmond. Special guests, depending on availability include tama drummer Massamba Diop, poet Abioidun Oyewole (of The Last Poets) and Senegalese hip hop troupe Bideew Bou Bess.