ABOUT Duniya Dance and Drum
Founded in 2007 by Punjabi-American dancer Joti Singh and Guinean musician Bongo Sidibe, Duniya Dance and Drum Company is a South Asian and West African racial and immigrant justice performing arts organization. As a company founded and led by West African and South Asian traditional artists, we prioritize featuring BIPOC artists and work to increase the economic value of our labor. Our company values of Tradition, Cultural Exchange, Social Justice, and Community Building emphasize our commitment to serve our communities in the Bay Area.
Through our performances and programs, we aim to educate audiences about untold histories and current events that impact our communities. We challenge power structures by disrupting the notion that concert dance is superior to community-based dance. We advocate for equal funding for culture bearers and immigrant art forms, aiming to dismantle caste supremacy and address colorism and anti-Blackness in South Asian culture. We also confront intersectional inequities within our own communities, including misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia. We consciously prioritize placing women in positions of organizational power and engage in open conversations to address the prejudices that persist. By featuring and supporting BIPOC artists, fostering education and community engagement, and confronting intersectional inequities, Duniya strives to create a more inclusive and just arts landscape.
Major accomplishments include: Our free African Arts Festival; community classes offered both online and in-person; educational programs in schools and universities; and productions exploring community issues, under-recognized stories, and the complexities of of immigrant histories like “Half and Halves,” a collaboration with Ensambles Ballet Folklorico de San Francisco about the Punjabi-Mexican Communities of California, which has been performed in San Francisco, Fresno, the Smithsonian Museum of American history, and Indianapolis; and “Raices et Resistance,” a collaboration with Susana Arenas Pedroso about the post-independence relationship between Guinea, West Africa and Cuba.
