Bainbridge Dance Center is delighted to welcome Etienne Capko (Benin) and Daniel Santos (Bahia) for a performance of African & Afro-Brazilian dance with live drumming.
Etienne Cakpo is director and lead choreographer of Gansango Dance Company. Cakpo is an award-winning professional dancer, choreographer and musician from Benin, West Africa. He teaches and performs traditional African dance from Benin as well as contemporary African dance styles and has been building his dance repertoire for over thirty years. Skilled in both traditional and modern dance styles, Cakpo lives to dance. He teaches African dance classes at Open Flight Studio in Seattle and performs locally, nationally, and internationally.
A native of Salvador, Brazil, Daniel Santos grew up steeped in the world of Capoeira and Afro-Brazilian dance. Educated at La Universidad Federal do Bahia and Federação Cultural do Bahia in Salvador, he performed throughout the state of Bahia with professional Afro-Brazilian dance and Capoeira groups such as Arte Bahia, Joao de Barro and Axé Bahia. After nearly 18 years of teaching and performing, Daniel moved to the U.S. filled with enthusiasm to share his native Afro-Brazilian culture abroad. In Seattle, together with his wife Aileen, they founded Bantos Capoeira Seattle and Bahia in Motion, organizations that offer classes in Afro-Brazilian dance and Capoeira to both adults and children.