Babara was born in Guinea and is half Soussou and half Malinké. Whilst still a child in Conakry he first became a member of the Ensemble des Percussions de Guinée Junior and subsequently the Djoliba National Ballet Company.

He has lived in Belgium since 1999. As a spiritual heir of the great Guinean master Mamady Keïta, he passes on the Guinean tradition and art of the djembe. Both musician and teacher, as is Mamady, Babara travels throughout the world giving workshops and concerts, some of these with the legendary Sewa Kan ensemble. Groups specialising in musical styles from jazz to electro have also welcomed him, recording several of his compositions on their own albums.

Babara is also the founder of the International North-South Cultural Exchange Festival. This festival takes place in Conakry and provides musicians from all over the world with the opportunity to share their passion for the traditional Mandinke music and dance. As a djembefola, Babara is dedicated to promote Mamady's message: music has no boundaries, skincolour and is not an obstacle for meeting other cultures.

Babara's smile is contagious, bringing laughter to his students as he leads them through techniques and showmanship style.

Monette Marino is a world percussionist. She spent the majority of the last 20 years studying under Master Drum-mer Mamady Keita from Guinea. In 1999 she received her Teaching Certificate from Mr.Keita and opened a branch of Tam Tam Mandingue USA in San Diego, California. From 2004–2012 she managed Mamady’s world tours, assisted him in teaching master classes, and performed with his ensemble, Sewa Kan. She received her diplo-ma from Mamady Keita & Tam Tam Mandingue in 2011.

She has since branched out as a solo artist releasing her debut album “Coup d’Eclat” and also opened her own school of percussion called MO’RHYTHM. In addition, Monette Marino has created an iPhone App “Mo’Rhythm Africa – Play Along Djembe/Dunun App” now available on iTunes for iPhone/iPad/Apple TV. Prior to her involvement in West Afri can percussion Monette studied folkloric and popular rhythms from Cuba, Brazil, and Korea

Aïda has an infectious energy with an enigmatic personality and freely shares her knowledge, skill and joviality without holding back. Born in Ouakam village; home of the Lebou ethnic group of Senegal (the Lebou are mainly a fishing community speaking Wolof), Aida started dancing Sabar at a very young age. Together with other artists, they formed the group ‘Jappo’ meaning ‘together’ in Ouakam. From this group, Aïda was scouted by Landing Mane who became her mentor and teacher in 1997. She added djembe dancing to her repertoire and went on to join Ballet Africain de Sanghoma which led to a tour with Daara-j in Senegal and abroad. In 2009 Aida joined Bakalama de Thionkessyl and had the opportunity to teach Sabar and Djembe dance at the American school at the U.S Embassy in Senegal. In 2010 Aida moved to the UK working alongside Landing Mane, participating in various workshops. She worked at various festivals such as Womad and Drum camp with Ballet Nimba and now lives in Swansea. Aida has delivered workshops in various schools and venues and holds regular weekly classes in London. Aida’s biggest accolade is her Arts Council supported & funded event called AIDANCE which she has ran successfully for several years in London, most recently at the highly acclaimed Rambert School of Dance.

Harouna Dembélé, born in 1977 in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, comes from a family of griots who introduced him to various traditional Mandingue musical instruments from a young age. In Abidjan, he continued his musical training and learned a multitude of Ivorian rhythms that he played at numerous popular ceremonies, such as weddings, baptisms, and funerals. As a talented and highly sought-after artist, despite his young age, he participated in long nights of traditional festivities, which deepened his love for artistic traditions. In 1991, he joined the "Djolem" troupe and made his first trip to France as the second soloist. In 1994, he became an essential member of the "Yelemba d'Abidjan" troupe, where he was entrusted with the title and role of chief drummer. This marked the beginning of his significant work in African ballets. In 2004, he founded the Parissi troupe, surrounding himself with talented artists. Since then, Harouna has been part of numerous international tours, showcasing his undeniable talent as the first soloist on stages around the world

I am from the Ivory Coast in West Africa, and my parents come from Mali and the Ivory Coast. I am from a musical family of griots in West Africa. We had an empire called Manding in Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia, and a few other countries. I inherited griotism from my forefathers and music is part of our nature and our family, so I am a musician and a multi-instrumentalist. My music took me to the UK in 2008, I was touring with a group and I carried on with my tour. Then later on life changed and this destiny decided for me to be part of the nation in the UK and the griot of the UK population.

My first instrument is the Djembe. Djembe is an instrument that brings people together. United and living in peace is the meaning of “djembe.” It teaches us tolerance, respect, love, forgiveness and living in the community. That's my first instrument. And I also play jeli ngoni, a little instrument [lute] with four strings…. I also play the kamelengoni [harp], and percussion instruments, cabasa and talking drum.

All of these instruments are spiritual, the djembe particularly has four spirits to go with it, the spirit of the tree, the spirit of the person who carved it, the animal skin and the spirit of the person who plays it. I believe that whenever you play djembe and you have a wish to make, the spirit of djembe will take your wish to the sky and grant your wish.