MOHAMED BANGOURA

Mohamed "Cloubou" Bangoura moved to the San Francisco Bay area from Guinea, West Africa in 2009. Born and raised in Guinea, he and his family come from the Susu people of Dubreka.

 

Mohamed began dancing at the age of 10 and developed as a professional dancer under the guidance of Alya Gigla Sylla, a close friend of his older brother, in Gigla's private ballet troop, Ballet Saamato. It was here that he earned the nickname “Cloubou” which means someone who never runs out of energy to dance!

 

At the age of 25, Cloubou was recruited to dance with Ballet Fareta, and shortly after, the national Ballet Djoliba. There he danced, taught and created choreography. He has been teaching and performing dance for over two decades and is acknowledged by the artists and people of Guinea as a masterful performer and instructor.

 

Since moving to the USA Cloubou has augmented his insatiable thirst for dance with a love for drumming and supports dance classes in Santa Cruz by playing music for M’Mah Toure, Alseny Soumah, Naby Bangoura and others. He does this out of a love for the art and a desire to build the community. Mohamed is also a featured artist in Manimou Camara’s CAMP SAAMATO, an annual drum and dance intensive held just outside of Seattle.

 

In 2012, Cloubou was elated to be able to bring his then 6 year old son Oumar to the USA from Guinea. Oumar loves his father and emulates him in everything. He promises to be an exceptional dancer and percussionist in his own right.

 

Mohamed and Oumar are excited to build community and their life in the United States. They look forward to seeing you in class, at a performance or around town soon.