Nii Kpakpo Addo is a well-known Ghanaian master dancer, drummer and choreographer. He is a multi-instrumentalist with over 24 years’ experience in performance and has toured in Sweden, Israel, the USA and many African countries. Fred has worked with dance companies such as Nokoba Dance Company, Kusun Ensemble and the Anunyam Traditional Music and Dance Troupe, and he recently hosted a peace festival in Nungua, Ghana, called Womba Africa. Fred is passionate about promoting peace and unity through tradition.

Ousmane comes from a mandinko family of musicians from Senegal. He is a drummer, singer, guitarist and composer. He has been playing all west African drums since his youth.

Emmanuel was born in Accra, Ghana and is of the Ga ethnic group. From a young age, he was drawn to percussion and played with friends on Milo tins and boxes. Emmanuel’s talent was spotted by a local who took him to Team Afrique – a local drum & dance ensemble – where had the opportunity to study traditional rhythms from Asanti, Ewe and Ga regions. From the age of 19 Emmanuel performed for weddings, funerals, parties, political events and festivals in Ghana.

In 2015 Emmanuel arrived in Australia and he is now a sought after musician. He currently plays with Asanti Dance Theatre, One Spirit Africa, Jali Bouba, Melbourne Djembe and Sun of Africa Drum & Dance Ensemble.

Having performed throughout Ghana, Mali, Benin and South Africa and now living in Australia, Kwame is emerging as one of Australia’s most talented in the traditional and afro-contemporary dance forms. Like many of Ghana’s top dancers, Kwame began practising his art on the street. Finding a passion for dance he was picked up and rigorously trained by the renowned Joe Mensah, and later joined the Namo Ale Cultural Troupe, where he learned the intricacies of traditional Ghanaian dance.

With a love for music that started with playing drum kit in Blues and Rock music, Nick started hitting the tubs at age 12 and hasn’t stopped yet. Nick has studied music in Darwin, Lismore and Melbs. He has been performing and teaching a wide range of music styles on drum kit and percussion all over Australia for 20 years. Nick regularly plays dunduns for dance classes and in the performance group Wassawumba.

Adeniyi Ekine (Nigeria) is a multi-skilled media consultant who has a background in film making, TV/radio presenting and MC. He is a human rights activist and works tirelessly to create community and promote peace.
He has worked in the entertainment industry all over the world, including West Africa, Singapore, Dubai, Korea, Taiwan and Egypt.

Adeniyi has a charismatic personality and excellent communication skills. He works with Melbourne Djembe to organise, promote and MC drum and dance events.