RESEARCH INTO KANKOURAN

1983 was the year that KanKouran the West African Dance Company was founded by Assane Konte. It was founded as an extension of the arts and they aim to expose local and national and international audiences. The company produce lectures, performances and workshops for all kinds of people. Despite Mr Konte being a native African, (the origin of the dance) the company’s performing artists are from the District of Columbia are and represent a variety of different cultural backgrounds.
The company extracts its name from the people of Senegal, and the Mandingo culture. KanKouran “in Mandingo culture is a guide who teaches young boys and girls the meaning of manhood and womanhood as a part of their transition into adult hood.”

Considering the African dance origin of the name, Kankouran we wanted to intergrate the West African culture and our own idea’s/pre-conceptions together. Our friend Emily Chawawa has put herself forward for the role of the woman in our video. She fits the image we had in mind for the character, young, unique, individual style. She can suit versatile looks, which is what we plan to create.

Due to the generic aspects of the band, we thought it appropriate to have 'youths' acting in this video. This links in with the style of the dance, (the transition from childhood to adulthood) and the individual electronic/indie/pop genre the band represents. The aspect of rebellion is featured in all of these genres and the aspect of youth.

The style of costume we wanted to in-corporate is maybe features of the Victorian fashions, i.e. the long skirts. Maybe some West-African prints (bold prints) on some other costumes, maybe the male's costumes. We also wanted to include some modern day clothing, to appeal to our (intended) target audience, so style's influenced by the band and by the genre.

We think we have found Literature and Film inter-textual references just from the locations so far, and the meaning of the band's name. We have yet to decide on names for the characters and shots etc. However by using the Victorian clothing, we are inter-textual referencing it to 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' which was set in the 19th century. Our video and the film are both using the same location - The Cobb, on Lyme Regis Beach in Devon. We have yet to research'The French Lieutenant's Woman' further but it is a definite area of interest.

The band's name - Kankouran, as stated earlier is a west African dance, and so by incorporating aspects of Africa prints into the costumes gives a nod to the origin of the name and toward the African culture, linking back to the dance and of course the band.

The modern day clothing is going to be integrated into a mix of the other two styles of costumes, hopefully creating an outcome which will look unique and innovative to the audience and try to target the younger audience.