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About us

I first came to Abene on a drum and dance holiday in 1999 and realised very quickly that a special relationship between the village and myself existed and had to be developed.

Malo Sonko was my djembe teacher; he had been teaching to young locals as well as Western visitors for about last twenty years and the very first rhythms I learnt with him at the time I can still remember and play.

Since then, I have discovered more about the village and its inhabitants who have always been very welcoming and keen to show me their village and explain their way of life. I soon realised that Abene is a place dedicated to the Arts, whether it is performing arts such as traditional percussions, dance, songs and theatre or craft arts such as traditional batik painting and woodcarving. It reaches its climax when Abene Festivalo, the annual festival of traditional arts, takes place in winter.

I went back four times to Abene before I invited Malo to visit the UK with the aim to learn about our culture and find out more about the evolution of African arts in this country. He first came to London in 2000 and started to give workshops and performed with various pan African ensembles.

When he returned to Abene, he built our house in the village so that we can invite visitors to learn percussions and dance, and so we can share with them our knowledge of African traditions and customs.

Malo came back in the UK with in mind the mission to teach traditional West African percussions and share what he inherited from his family and its teachers with all members of the community.

Malo and his group Sabari were the revelation of Oxford Africa Week 2001 during which they gave an explosive performance at the Catweazle club. They initiated an impromptu procession in Oxford city centre and organised a drum, dance and singing workshop at St Michael's First School, which revealed hidden talents among 30 school children.

Our aim is now to enable everyone to learn more about the West African, and in particular, the Senegalese customs to become aware of every aspect of this rich culture. We are inviting individuals, local communities as well as companies to contact us if they wish to organise -in the UK or Senegal- workshops, performances and corporate events for adults or children, members of the public or the private sector. Malo's extensive experience and professional skills will no doubt surprise you with his unmatched talent as well as his generous attitude. All combined creates a relaxing atmosphere wherever he teaches and/or performs.

After working in different environments in the UK on his own and with his group Sabari, Malo realised there was a real need from the community to understand better his traditional cultural heritage. I decided to set up alnaniking uk, a not for profit arts organisation, aiming to improve the understanding of West African culture and promote the social benefits of learning different artforms from various ethnicities of the West African diaspora. This seems to be the right step towards encouraging people to go beyond nationalities. In cosmopolitan Britain, it often means for children to find out more about their own identity or simply open their minds to arts and cultures of various origins.

In October 2006 our son Malang was born and we decided to spend more time in Abene so that he could grow up in a child friendly enviroment.

Laurie opened the first internet cafe in the village and the locals started learning what computer as well as internet access could mean to them. It has attracted a lot of interest from foreign visitors too and our project is to extend access to computer use and internet access to children and young people. Please contact us if you would like to receive a copy of our Ordi Laurie project.

Malo also set up his project of music and dance education of the youth in Abene, in particular those gifted children who cannot afford private lessons with a musical teacher or drum master. Classes and rehearsals are taking place in our compound, firstly using traditional West African instruments such as djembe, dun dun, seourouba, bougarabou, kora, balafon and gongoma, but this could extend to modern instruments such as guitar and drumkit if we manage to obtain such instruments as well as recording equipment. Please contact us if you would like further information about the alna niking! project.

Laurie and Malo Sonko