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The
Mercury News, June
18, 2003
Casquelourd is
gone, but the dance goes on
Dancer, drummer and choreographer Malonga Casquelourd, who died early Sunday
morning in an auto accident, was often called an ``African James Brown''
because of his fleet footwork and intensity.
A compact man with a propulsive jump, a magnetic stage presence and the ability
to ripple his belly like waves, Casquelourd taught Congolese dance and
drumming to Bay Area students for nearly 30 years.
``He trained hundreds of artists and was truly an ambassador for Central Africa
here,'' says Tina Combs, a lawyer who dances in Casquelourd's group, Fua
Dia Congo.
Casquelourd, 55, was killed Sunday morning in Oakland while driving home from
a party for his niece's graduation. His car was struck by another driving
the wrong way on a one-way street, police said. The other driver, Martin
Burgermyer, 35, of Oakland, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving
and of vehicular manslaughter, according to Sgt. Russell Chew. Burgermyer
has been released from jail and charges are pending the results of toxicology
tests.
Many Bay Area dancers and drummers have been in mourning ever since hearing
the news of Casquelourd's death. ``He was my best friend, a great person
with a great sense of humor,'' says CK Ladzekpo, who directs the African
Music Program at the University of California-Berkeley. ``He loved life.
We used to say that we would bury all the kids and still be here.''
A memorial celebrating Casquelourd's life will be held tonight at the Alice
Arts Center, Oakland.
Fua Dia Congo, a 25-member group that started in East Palo Alto, will go on
with performances scheduled Saturday and Sunday at the Ethnic Dance Festival
in San Francisco. Casquelourd's four children will dance in the show.
``I expect it will be pretty emotional, but I'm positive he would have wanted
us to perform,'' says eldest daughter, Muisi-Kongo Malonga, 22, a program
coordinator at the Community Development Institute in East Palo Alto.
Casquelourd was born in Duala, Cameroon, in 1947. He danced with the National
Congolese Dance Company from 1965 to 1968 and co-founded Tanawa, the first
Central African dance company in the United States, in 1972.
In 1976, he began teaching in East Palo Alto. One of his students was Renee
Puckett, a dancer who credits him with changing her life.
``A lot of my friends and peers got turned out on drugs or saw people get shot,
but I was always in the rehearsal studio away from that,'' Puckett says.
In addition to Fua Dia Congo, Casquelourd founded a children's dance company
called Ballet Kizingou and a women's drumming group, Diata Diata. He also
taught at Stanford University and San Francisco State University.
Fua Dia Congo has performed nine times in the Ethnic Dance Festival. Casquelourd's
performances there were legendary because he would still be dancing furiously
when the curtain came down.
``He was a powerhouse known for his enormous energy,'' says Lily Kharazzi,
program director for World Arts West, which produces the Ethnic Dance Festival.
Casquelourd was a pioneer in bringing African dance to the Bay Area in the
1970s, along with Ladzekpo and Zak Diouf, founder of the Diamano Coura
West African Dance Company. Casquelourd helped introduce Central African
artistic traditions at a time when West African culture was far better
known.
Casquelourd also directed popular Congolese dance camps in Maui and Nevada
City, training hundreds of students in weeklong intensives. His family,
friends and members of his dance troupe members are making plans to ensure
that his classes and camps continue.
``He was a magnet,'' says Susan Cashion, senior lecturer at Stanford University's
dance division, where Casquelourd taught classes. `I think everyone who
knew him is feeling blessed because we had a chance to be touched by him.''
Malonga Casquelourd
Memorial: A memorial for Malonga Casquelourd will be held
at 5 p.m. today at the Alice Arts Center, 1428 Alice St., Oakland.
Performance: Fua Dia Congo will perform as part of the
Ethnic Dance Festival at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the
Palace of Fine Arts Theater, 3301 Lyon St., San Francisco; $22-$36; (415)
392-4400, www.cityboxoffice.com, www.tickets.com
Trust fund: A trust for Casquelourd's family has
been established at Wells Fargo Bank. For information, contact Muisi-Kongo
Malonga at (650) 326-3053.
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Contact Anita Amirrezvani at aamirrezvani@mercury news.com or (408) 920-5756.
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