Kassoumaii 2026

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As part of the second annual Teranga Conference, KASSOUMAII 2026 enters a powerful new chapter. In past years, KASSOUMAII has served as Kofago’s annual fundraiser and a celebration of community through performance. This year, the event is being reimagined as a featured performance experience within the conference, highlighting the intersection of research, choreography, culture, and embodied knowledge.

Presented on Saturday, June 13, 2026, KASSOUMAII will showcase the work of researchers whose scholarship lives through movement. Each featured artist will present choreography that reflects their research, offering audiences an opportunity to experience ideas, histories, and cultural inquiry through performance. The program will also feature the Kofago Dance Ensemble, whose work continues to center the traditions, creativity, and living legacy of the African Diaspora.

In alignment with this year’s Teranga Conference theme, “Guardians of Culture: Building Sanctuary through Art and Education,” KASSOUMAII honors choreography as a form of research and performance as a space for knowledge-sharing, memory, and collective reflection. The evening will bring together artists, educators, scholars, and community members in celebration of the brilliance and cultural vision emerging from our communities.

Rooted in the spirit of Teranga, meaning “to welcome” in the Wolof language of Senegal, KASSOUMAII 2026 invites audiences into a shared experience of artistry, scholarship, and cultural exchange.