I will confirm a date soon for the next workshop, but it is currently scheduled for 4 weeks beginning July 1st 2008. This is dependent on numbers of respondants. Check this page soon for confirmation of dates.
I'll leave this up to you. Flights and airfares will all depend on where you are coming to Senegal from (the next workshop will most likely have students from all around the world, adding to the flavour of the experience!).
The travel agent that you use for organising the flights will also be able to advise you on what the latest visa requirements are for your particular nationality, as again this will depend on where you are from. At the time of writing, European Union passport holders did not require a visa for Senegal, while Australian/New Zealand citizens did. But please confirm this with your travel agent.
When you've arranged flights, give me all the information and I will be waiting to pick you up at Dakar International Airport. Yoff is only a 5 minute drive from the airport.
I hope to keep the workshop as flexible as possible so that everyone coming will be able to learn the things that most interest them. I will not be the only griot from my family teaching the workshop, so we can do many different things at the same time, with most participants getting the chance to have 1-on-1 lessons if they want.
Every week, there will be 6 days of workshop, with Sunday free for recreation (see further down for ideas of things to do).Each workshop day will follow the rough timetable below:
9am: Breakfast
10-12am: Morning lessons (choice of djembe or sabar drumming, dance)
12-1pm: Traditional Senegal singing with whole group together.
1pm-2pm: Lunch
2pm-5pm: Free time
5pm-7pm: Evening lessons (choice of djembe or sabar drumming, dance)
After 7pm: Dinner, free time
This is only a rough guide, as I want the workshop to be free and natural!
The workshop includes accomodation at the Toucan Hotel in Yoff for the duration. The Toucan Hotel provides single/twin bedrooms with shared bathrooms plus communal recreational/dining areas.
All meals are also included, so you will get to experience the delicious taste of tradtional Senegalese cuisine. You will need to buy your own snacks and drinks (other than with meals).
There are many things to see and do around Yoff on free days. For example Ile de NGor, a popular island swimming spot is just 5 minutes away. Check out my link to Senegal tourist information for some ideas on what else you would like to do.
For the 4 week workshop, the cost will be US$1,300. As mentioned above this includes food and accomodation. At an additional cost, you can buy any drums that you want, custom-built for you. Please contact me in advance if you would like to have a drum made.