UPDATE: The scheduled performance by Dobet Gnahoré at The Dakota has been cancelled due to visa and travel complications. No new date has been announced, and the event is not expected to be rescheduled at this time. Ticket holders are advised to contact the venue for refund information and further updates.
Of the myriad skills it takes to bring a show to stage, Dobet Gnahoré excels in most of them. If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing this Côte d’Ivoire musician perform, you might not know about her stage presence and the dynamic dance moves she possesses.
Mshale sat down with Ms. Gnahoré recently to find out more. She described how it can take weeks to create the program for the stage that they want to present to their audience.
“Before I create the choreography, I think about the song and the energy I want to bring to the people,” she said, carefully choosing her words in English. “Sometime my energy is maybe…I have two choice. Maybe sexy and very [sensual]. Or I think about how women are powerful and stronger and I think about my movement between these two things.”
Dobet confesses, “Dancing is my first love of the arts.” Following the dance, Dobet cites singing and then drumming as close to her heart.
She composes her own songs. “When I craft my song, I need to know the rhythm inside of it, the lyrics…when I write my song, I need to decide which languages I want to use. Every song has a story, every song has its own energy.” She likes to use different languages to acknowledge the power and diversity of her continent and to promote African culture.
Through these channels, Dobet seeks to bring a global understanding to her audience. “I think the world needs to know the world,” she said. “Sometimes when I speak to people from elsewhere, they think about Africa as one country. They don’t know Africa is a big continent and a lot of ethnicities, a lot of power.”
“For me it is important that people know Africa is not like a poor continent. Some parts of Africa are poor, like everywhere (in the world). But Africa is very rich. Our natural resources are more rich than other continents.” As Dobet spoke with fervor, French words slipped into her sentences, unable to express the depth of her feelings with her more limited English vocabulary.
In addition to music, Dobet teaches dance and has mentored other musicians. “I teach dance every,” Dobet says faltering, then quietly glances down and whispers, Monday, Tuesday, Wednes…she looks back up and with a smile that goes up into her bright eyes says confidently, “I teach dance every Wednesday.”
Two years ago, Dobet mentored four young women in Abidjan, the economic capital and largest city of Côte d’Ivoire. She wanted to share her love for music with them by helping with some of the technical skills surrounding music such as music production, management, and song arrangement. What Dobet discovered is that how she listens to music for herself differs from how she listens to music for others.
“It was very interesting,” she said, “when I compose music for other people, my ear is different.” The shift, she said, is that when she composes for herself, it’s subjective, but when she composes for others or in this case when she was mentoring these young women, music became more objective and outside of herself, no longer intrinsic.
Dobet Gnahoré will perform at 7 pm at The Dakota on April 12th. Tickets available here.
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About Susan Budig
Susan is based in Minneapolis and reports on general assignments for Mshale with a focus on entertainment. In addition to reporting, she is also a writer, poet, teacher and coach.
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