Burkinabé choreographer and dancer aims to heal Korea through movement

Koule Kan Together performs at Incheon Art Platform 2024. Courtesy of Incheon Art Platform

Sanou Emmanuel arrived in Korea from Burkina Faso in 2012, carrying more than a suitcase but bringing an entire philosophy of life, shaped by the rhythms and movements of West African dance. Today, nearly 14 years later, he stands as one of the most distinctive and quietly influential African figures in Seoul's contemporary dance scene.

He leads a group of four dancers and three musicians, under the performance brand Koule Kan Together, creating spaces where African traditional movement meets contemporary choreography, and where the stage becomes a forum for human connection.

Choreographer and dancer Sanou Emmanuel from Burkina Faso / Courtesy of Chad Park

“In Africa, dance has always made us be together. When I came here, I could feel people becoming alone. And I could see many suicides. It made me sick. Korea has everything for living, everything to be comfortable," he told The Korea Times, his voice carrying a mix of admiration and concern. "Why do people commit suicide? In Burkina Faso, life is very difficult; it is not a rich country. But I never hear of somebody taking their life. Because the community is there."

Originally established in Burkina Faso, Koule Kan is a contemporary dance performance company whose name, drawn from the local Burkinabé language, means "shout of the roots." Emmanuel transplanted it to Korea when he immigrated. He formed a team to connect his roots in Burkina Faso with his new home.

The company’s choreography blends traditional African dance with contemporary forms, exploring themes of human dignity, social justice and cultural identity under the motto “We are all travelers. Wherever you go, don’t forget your roots and dignity.”

The group envisions creating an inclusive community where art transcends boundaries. The company now serves as a cultural bridge, introducing Korean audiences to West African Mandingo/Mande traditions through performances, workshops and forums. In 2016, Koule Kan was honored with the Special Artist Award from the Korean Council of Art Critics.

Choreographer and dancer Sanou Emmanuel from Burkina Faso / Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu

Emmanuel's path to this point was not straightforward. After working at an African museum in Pocheon, northern Gyeonggi Province, and later joining a dance company, he eventually struck out on his own and established an independent studio space 2019. It was there that his mission crystallized, not merely to teach technique, but to use dance as a vehicle for rebuilding the social fabric he felt was unsettled around him.

“I started to do more dance work. I started to focus on my choreography and creation work. I made my own space and moved there to do more dance work. My inspirations are not just only humans — it can be natural, it can be anything. For me, to be a dancer, you have to be connected somewhere. For me, community is important,” he said.

That community is what he is determined to recreate. His classes at his studio are deliberately open, with no fixed schedule and no closed enrollment. Any Sunday, anyone can walk in, pay and dance. The result is a remarkably diverse gathering: Koreans, Europeans, Americans, all moving together. But his work extends far beyond his own walls.

He regularly visits schools and youth programs, and works with dancers who have disabilities, a population he speaks about with particular passion. "We cannot just put them aside," he said. "How can dancers meet them? How can we bring them forward? I want to show these people it is not their disability that defines them, that we can go further."

Even though he has been working for over a decade in Korea, language continues to be a challenge. Each project he conceives must travel from his native Dioula language, through French, then English and finally into Korean, a process in which he fears something essential is always lost. "When I write in my own language, I can see the original. By the time it reaches Korean translation, I feel something has disappeared on the road," he said. "How do I make Korean audiences feel close, not far? That is my biggest challenge."

He has, over the years, built a network of Korean collaborators who help him bridge this gap, translating not just words, but intent. It is this network, he believes, that has allowed him to sustain his work when other African artists in Korea have struggled and eventually set their art aside for more stable employment.

"Many artists come here and stop," he said. "They work other jobs because living is difficult. My chance is that I have people to work with, and also that I did not close myself off to only African content. I focused on the African base, but I made it wide. How can people be included? If I only focus on Africa, others cannot enter."

A poster for the International Comic Dance Festival "Nanjang" event / Courtesy of Gwacheon Foundation for Arts and Culture

His troupe will be part of the International Comic Dance Festival "Nanjang" at the Gwacheon Civic Center this Saturday. This international collaboration brings together 43 artists from three regions — Burkina Faso, Taiwan and Korea — highlighting diverse cultural expressions through the art of comic dance, offering audiences creative and playful interpretations of movement.

Koule Kan's performance promises to be Emmanuel's most personal work yet. The piece draws on the Mandinka greeting system, commonly used in various West African countries, which is a vital social ritual emphasizing respect, peace and interpersonal connection. With the spirit of hospitality that flings wide the gates to welcome a stranger, they invite the audience to dance, creating a moment for all to blend vibrantly into a single, shared rhythm.

Visit koulekan.net for more information, or follow @koulekan and @koulekan_school on Instagram. Go to gcart.or.kr for information about the performance and to buy tickets.

Bereket Alemayehu is an Ethiopian photo artist, social activist and writer based in Seoul. He’s also the co-founder of Hanokers, a refugee-led social initiative, and a freelance contributor for Pressenza Press Agency.