Griot Music at the Crossroads

The Workshop Organization

Lisa Feder, the organiser of the workshop, is an American anthropologist who has worked with griots for over 20 years. In her workshops, Lisa guides us in opening ourselves to the positive psychological benefits of learning this traditional instrument with griot teachers like Famoro Dioubate and Kanazoe Diabate. Kanazoe Diabate leads this balafon workshop with rhythms from the Manding people on the diatonic balafon. He also specializes in the pentatonic melodies from his cultural group, the Semla people from Tolonso, Burkina Faso.

Participants start each day with a short meditation and listening quietly to the music from a master griot. Then, we embark on 2-3 hours of balafon lessons. At noon, we pause for lunch and free time for several hours. Take a walk in the woods, bath in the river, or take it easy at our country home.

For the balafon ambitious, Kanazoe will be available for small group lessons - particularly for the advanced players who want to maximise their learning experience. Later in the afternoon, we practice what we learned earlier that day, as an ensemble.

In the evening we pause for yoga, meditation, and relaxation before the Musical Cocktail Hour when balafon enthusiasts can continue playing. Tired of the balafon? You can play other instruments like the doundouns, djembes, bells, and if you bring them: bass, flute, guitar, etc. It's also a chance to dance, listen, paint, play and be free!

Manding Grooves Pedagogy

More than just a music lesson

In Manding Grooves workshops, we blend African and European styles of learning.

Learning balafon the West African way comprises a system of education indigenous to Manding culture. Famoro Dioubaté from Guinea and Kanazoe Diabaté from Burkina Faso, two of our teachers, began their apprenticeship at the age of 7. Rather than concentrating on schoolwork, they concentrated on learning balafon. This is how they developed their humanity. It is very rare for Europeans to learn in this style.

Classes are combined with village-style learning during which time the teachers transmit values and qualities such as patience, concentration, coordination, grace, listening, respect, and a sense of community. These are values that we can integrate into our daily lives.

With the assistance of Lisa Feder and other experienced individuals, we have the opportunity to explore and practice the rich spiritual culture of the jelis (or griots) around different themes.

Lisa Feder is an American anthropologist specializing in the study of jeli culture as an educational system. Author of the book "Jeliya at the Crossroads,"now translated in French, she has studied under Famoro Dioubaté and other jelis since 2000. Based in France since 2015, she co-founded Manding Grooves with Famoro Dioubaté to support jélis in their journeys in Europe and the United States. She believes in the power of music to bring people together beyond borders. She believes in the ancient system of apprenticeship and oral transmission as a path for developing well-balanced human beings. She is also a spiritual practitioner and member of the Planet Dharma community. For Lisa Feder, jeliya, human development, and spirituality are inseparable. The Manding Grooves pedagogy is based on over 20 years of anthropological research and practice.

Creating transformative cross-cultural experiences between West Africa and the World

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Trip to Guinea- Winter

Balafon Workshops- Summer

With the best of Manding Griot Musicians

Read about it!

Lisa Feder, a cultural anthropologist, wrote "Jeliya at the Crossroads" about her experiences of over 20 years, working with Manding Griots. These oral-historian/musicians live between the long-standing profession of their forefathers and mothers, passed down orally for 800 years, and their careers in the global music arena. To read more about it, see Lisa's webpage. A version of this book will be available in French in 2025!

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B a l a f o n W o r k s h o p s

Summer 2025
Balafon workshop in Sédéron, France
July 26-August 2
with Kanazoe Dioubate of Burkina Faso

For more information contact lisa@lisafeder.com
+33.6.50.57.66.27