March 1-6, 2007: Germaine Acogny invited to UTD
March 1-6, 2007: Germaine Acogny, “Mother of modern African dance,” introduces her unique fitness program to the USA Germaine Acogny, internationally recognized as “the mother of modern African dance,” will be at the University of Texas at Dallas to present her unique approach to fitness for all age-groups. Inspired by the dance traditions of her […]
March 1-6, 2007: Germaine Acogny, “Mother of modern African dance,” introduces her unique fitness program to the USA
Germaine Acogny, internationally recognized as “the mother of modern African dance,” will be at the University of Texas at Dallas to present her unique approach to fitness for all age-groups. Inspired by the dance traditions of her native Senegal, she developed a series of exercises that have had a huge success in Europe. She will be Dallas from March 3 to 7, at the invitation of Professor Mihai Nadin, who will motion capture her fitness routine. Nadin directs the Institute for Research in Anticipatory Systems and heads the Seneludens project, which aims to develop ways to compensate for the effects of aging. Experts in health maintenance and aging agree that both dance and exercise are beneficial for maintaining mental and bodily fitness. The program that Acogny developed stresses muscle tone and awareness of bodily movement, and of the body in general. This makes her program beneficial to people of all ages, including young people who need to remedy obesity. After the motion capture, other aspects of her fitness program will be examined further. Professor Nadin wants to use Acogny’s fitness program as a basis for developing computer games that support physical and cognitive health.
Acogny heads a dance school in Senegal that attracts young talent from around the world, especially Europe. Her performances, along with her work among the women of Senegal, have been acknowledged through many awards. She will be in the USA, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), to perform Fagaala, inspired by the tragic genocide in Rwanda. Convinced that her unique fitness program will help old and young, she agreed to make the trip to Dallas to collaborate with Nadin.
If you are interested in an innovative fitness program validated in the villages of Senegal, as well as in France and Germany, plan to be in Dallas for the motion capture sessions. For more information, please contact Elvira Paul by phone (972-883-2180) or by e-mail (ante@utdallas.edu).
Posted in Archives