Kwaku Oppong Manu of Pinole, received his Master of Education from Lesley University, Boston in 2019. He received his education and training in West African Music and Dance at the University of Ghana. After obtaining his BFA degree in Dance in 2004, he was employed by the University of Ghana as a Senior Production Assistant and worked in the capacity of Dance and Drumming Instructor from 2004-2010. He received the Curtain Call Costumes Rising Star award from the Dance Council of North Texas to attend American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina in 2010. His involvement in dance workshops, performances and festivals on local, regional and national levels has given him the unique opportunity to gain extensive practical experiences. He was selected on numerous occasions to travel abroad to perform and teach African Music and Dance. He is currently working a full time with the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts as a Program Associate in charge of Students Development and Training teaching African Music and Dance to teenagers and also involved in a variety of Out of School Time (OST) programs for children from kindergarten to 6th grade as well as an in-school professional development program at Title One Schools called Learning Without Borders. He is also teaching a part-time drumming at California State University at East Bay.

Apprenticeship Program

2024

Ghanaian Agbekor drumming with apprentice Kwesi Anku

Kwesi Anku will explore the intricacies of the Agbekor drumming. This involves understanding the roles of various instruments and mastering the drum language through instruction and practice. A crucial element of mastery is developing the skills to lead both drumming and singing during performances, with both lead and support drums.

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Kati Hernandez of Los Angeles was born and raised in Cuba and lived throughout different island cities, exposing Katiuska to different regional aspects and traditional practices of Afro-Cuban folklore where she learned from her elders, immediate family, and mentors within her community from the age of five. Katiuska seeks to preserve Afro-Cuban traditions through dance and embodiment of the orishas so students may learn the characteristics and symbolism of each so aspects of an Orisha can be applied to empower and heal in and outside of her classes. Kati’s work extends beyond performance and into the realm of education and advocacy as her innovative approach to teaching, combined with her deep understanding of Afro-Cuban traditions guides her work.

Apprenticeship Program 2024

Afro-Cuban dance with apprentice Cecilia Slongo

Kati Hernandez will mentor Cecilia Slongo in the dances of the Orishas in the Afro-Cuban tradition, with a particular emphasis on the Orishas Oshun, Oya, and Yemanja. The study will encompass their dances, aesthetics, musical elements, traditions, history, and legends from an Afro-Cuban cultural perspective, drawing from their oral traditions and cosmology. Leading to improved dance skills, heightened cultural awareness, and a deeper comprehension of how Yoruba heritage evolved on the culturally diverse island of Cuba.

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Julia Caridad Cepeda Martinez was born into the esteemed Familia Cepeda, a family that has carried the Bomba tradition for more than 8 generations. She is the granddaughter of Don Rafael Cepeda Atiles and Doña Caridad Cepeda Brenes (Patriarch & matriarch of Bomba Cangrejera de Santurce Puerto Rico) and the daughter of El Tambor Mayor, Jesus Cepeda Brenes. Julia has been dancing for 40 years and has been part of her family tradition as both a student and a teacher. Julia has been teaching in Oakland for 10 years. Currently, she is carrying her family’s legacy in the San Francisco Bay Area as Julia Dansé, dance instructor, alongside Denise Solís with their class community Taller Bombalele.

Apprenticeship Program

2024

Bomba Dance with apprentice Ansarys Andino

In this apprenticeship, Julia Cepeda will focus more intensively on the foundation of grace and power that Bomba requires as she guides her apprentice, Ansary’s Adino in this cultural dance expression. Julia’s vast knowledge of the tradition passed down to her by way of her family will enrich Ansarys’ foundation in paseo ( travel of dance space), Figuras (figures), Piquetes (dance solos and movement) within each rhythm in Bomba culminating in the development of choreography.

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Madiou Diouf of Oakland, is a Sound Engineer and Musical Director for the Diamano Coura West African Dance Company. His journey in the world of music and sound engineering is a testament to the rich tapestry of cultural influences that shape an artist’s craft. Born into a family where artistic excellence is the norm, his multicultural background provided him with a unique perspective on music and performance playing many instruments from djembe, kutiro, dundun, log drum, bells, ngoma,sasa, which he has honed over the years through dedication and passion. His work demonstrates his commitment to preserving and promoting African culture through music and dance. 

Apprenticeship Program

2024

Senegalese/Liberian musical traditions

with apprentice Ababacar Kouyate

Madiou will be teaching Ababacar through the origin, construction and history of the drums, the rhythms they produce and their importance to African dance in general, and the specific dances. Ababacar will learn the independent and complimentary roles of the drums and their complex patterns in rhythmic compositions.  Following the introduction of the drums, Ababacar learns basic movements and how the rhythms produced by the drums carry the dancer. As Ababacar learns each new dance, he must also learn to sing drum patterns in unison and understand the emphasis rhythm places on various movements.

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Living Cultures Grant

2023

Poro Project

The PORO PROJECT is an introduction and immersion into the folkloric culture and traditions of West and Central Africa for boys and men. Funding will support a three-day event including dance workshops for boys and men, a community panel discussion on the significance of male representation in African dance, and a community demonstration.

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Makeda Kumasi is a dancer, musician, and storyteller. Makeda’s Urban Djali tour centers traditional West African dance and music in a reflective journey of racial inequalities, domestic insecurities, and spiritual rejuvenation.

Living Cultures Grant

2023

Pan-African Performance Art

Funding will support maintenance and repair for Kumasi’s instruments, and the booking of event spaces to present her 2021 spoken word album.

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Del Harrison produces a family-friendly variety show, Del’s Juke Joint, which mixes clean comedy, live music, poetry, storytelling, and Black cultural history for a live audience. Historically, the juke joint spans back to Ghana and was made popular in the United States during the 1800s and 1900s, when enslaved and free Black people would meet at secret locations to hear live music and storytelling, to dance, and to connect as a community. In recognition that Black communities in Los Angeles continue to encounter oppressive laws and system structures, Del’s Juke Joint offers Black Angelinos a space to meet, release, and connect. Conducted in areas of the city that are largely populated by Black Americans, at small, Black-owned venues, Del’s Juke Joint, provides fair wages to artists underserved communities, trains apprentices and helps them obtain on-the-job experience, engages youth, and helps build community.

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Acacia WoodsChan is a mixed ethnicity African-Chinese-American cultural artist whose traditions include African religion, song, dance, and performance, as well as Daoism. In 2018, she was an apprentice in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program. Her travel platform, Ethnic Ties, offers cultural tours of Oakland, including Black Oakland, Chinatown, and Fruitvale. Ethnic Ties values people, culture and connectedness, and acts as a liaison to all by leveraging tourism and community connectedness. They believe in inclusive and regenerative tourism that strengthens community bonds by investing in local and global communities by supporting cultural economies, intergenerational knowledge sharing, and cultural preservation efforts.

Ethnic Ties “Tour of the Town,” 2023.

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Living Cultures Grant

2023

Intergenerational Testimonies within Cultural Histories

Ethnic Ties will create location-based, cultural and historical landmarks that will trigger audiovisual testimonies from Oakland elders on each of their tours. They will also offer free youth tours to newly-arrived, asylum-seeking students from countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Yemen, and Nigeria, inviting community elders to accompany them and share historical insights.

Apprenticeship Program

2018

Lucumí sacred songs
with mentor Tobaji Stewart

During her apprenticeship, Woods-Chan studied the expressions and form of the sung liturgy of call-and-response Lucumí sacred songs.

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Janeen Johnson of O.Y.A. Strategies is a versatile artist, director, and touring field technician with a global reach. Her journey in arts and culture spans over eleven years, marked by extensive study and training in African and African Diaspora Dance, Music, and Culture, and formal training in Congolese music and dance traditions with legacy company, Fua Dia Congo (Congolese Heritage). Her skills extend to teaching—developed under the tutelage of Master Artist Ta Malonga Casquelourd—and she has taught throughout the San Francisco, Oakland, and Palo Alto School Districts. Johnson is also a stagecraft maven, combining interdisciplinary skills in arts management and administration with a focus on traditional and folk arts of shared cultural heritages. She yields an impressive professional track record, contributing to projects that encompass a range of cultural and artistic expressions.

Living Cultures Grant

2023

“From Whence I Came: Expressions of Congo”

Johnson will produce an oral history project centered on Pierre Sandor Diabankouezi, Master choreographer of traditional drum and dance from the Republic of Congo. The project will involve interviews, translated songs, and the transcription of cultural stories depicted in Diabankouezi’s Mikwe painting, preserving his contributions to African Dance in the San Francisco Bay Area for future generations.

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About the Organization

In 2017, Kahlil Cummings founded Extra Ancestral, an inspiring cultural movement dedicated to both educating and entertaining audiences by blending diverse cultural expressions of the African Diaspora. Extra Ancestral’s storytelling unfolds through the mesmerizing art of ancestral dance, delivering a profound exploration of temporal and geographical borders that stretch from Africa to the Americas. This cultural movement seamlessly integrates music, dance, visual arts, and community engagement into a potent force for empowerment, aimed at mitigating the transgenerational trauma experienced by communities of color. Recognizing the time-tested healing properties of music and dance, Extra Ancestral embraces this tradition in their performances to elevate and empower communities of color. Their vision materializes through a diverse range of offerings, including performance productions, dance classes, workshops, and music education programs featuring artists from across the African Diaspora.

Extra Ancestral featured in Skirball Stages, 2022.

Living Cultures Grant

2024

“Bridging the African Diaspora: Celebrating Heritage and Cultural Connections”

Extra Ancestral sought funding to support their performances, master classes, and collaborations with Traditional Master Artists for the 2024-2025 season. This funding will aid in creating equitable partnerships, presenting and documenting work, training artists and community members, and securing rehearsal spaces, enriching our cultural landscape.

2023

Extra Ancestral and the African Diaspora through Music and Dance

Funding from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grant Program will support Extra Ancestral’s performances, master classes, and events during the 2023-2024 performance season. It will also aid Extra Ancestral in creating new works and collaborating with Traditional Master Artists, documenting artistic work, training artists and community members, and funding rehearsals and creative spaces of practice.

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