My students enjoyed Sogbety’s West African Rhythm workshop. He had a great rapport with the students and was able to engage their attention the entire program with a variety of activities. Not only did my students learn about drumming, but they also learned about another culture. They really seemed to appreciate the cultural diversity that was brought to them through this wonderful workshop!
Laurie Muskara - 6th grade teacher
Franklin D. Roosevelt Academy, Cleveland
01/03/2011
Sogbety was absolutely wonderful! He was entertaining and totally engaged the children! We would have him again in a heartbeat
Anonymous
GCAC evaluation from a Columbus school
06/15/2010
Sogbety Diomande gave a high-energy performance that completely engaged the students and teachers alike.
His costumes, dance and drumming made for a wonderful assembly for our school during African American History Month. I would highly recommend his performance to other schools.
Lori Reagan - PSO Cultural Arts
Chippewa Elementary, Brecksville, Ohio
02/05/2010
I can’t imagine anyone participating in a Sogbety Diomande workshop and not being happy and full of life!
S. Collins - Executive Director
Ohio Alliance for Arts Education
03/19/2009
The audience young and old alike thoroughly enjoyed Sogbety’s performance. Both the Elyria Library system director and assistant director were also impressed.
Virginia Suda
Elyria Public Library
02/02/2009
What a wonderful opportunity for the students – and those of us who got up on the stage and attempted his dance! He was very engaging – did a great job with a large group with quite a range of ages.
Thanks again
John W. Raper
Pre-K, 1601 East 85th St. Cleveland, OH 44106
02/01/2009
Lotus Festival: Top 5 The Lotus Fest was as awesome as one could have expected. I saw 15 artists/groups that were all excellent but a few shows stood out to me.
Here are my top five:
4) Sogbety Diomande’s West African Drum and Dance CompanyMembers who once were part of the Ivory Coast’s national ballet, Sogbety Diomande’s West African Drum and Dance Company were amazing musicians and dancers. Doing traditional masked performance, the event was highlighted by an elaborately costumed stilt-walker doing flips, pop-ups, and any other physical thing that I can’t do without stilts.
Lotus Festival
The Lotus Education & Arts Foundation
10/05/2008
We had a GREAT time. Sogbety has a wonderful way with children and got everyone involved. We would love to have him back in the future!
Kate Hastings - Youth Services Manager
Upper Arlington Public Library
06/24/2008
This year’s African drum and dance festival was a blast! It was my best weekend of the year. I hope you have it next year. I wish more people had known about it since the talent was beyond belief! A Fan of Sogbety Diomande’s West African Celebration
What a great program! Sogbety was a big hit. He readily adjusted to the Head Start classes bringing about a dozen preschoolers, and all the chaos of parents coming to pick them up during the program.
One of my regular patrons mentioned how much fun she had, and this is a 6th grader who is not easy to please!
Pam Spangler / Elyria Public Library
Pam Spangler
Elyria Public Library
02/25/2008
We had the privilege of having Sogbety Diomande work with our students for a week during their music classes. Sogbety brought enough African drums so each student had one. The students learned how to play the djembe drum as well as other African instruments. Students learned about his culture, his life growing up there, and it’s music. Sogbety encouraged students to ask questions. He created a very positive learning environment that even had the teachers staying during music classes. This experience will be one the students will never forget. Sogbety touched our hearts and minds!
Cheryle Lauthers Stingel - Primary/Stingel Intermediate
Ontario Schools
06/22/2006
The West African Experience with Sogbety Diomande was a high-energy show that the audience thoroughly enjoyed! The sound of the drums attracted people from all over the library and they stayed to learn about West Africa and watch the dancers in their colorful costumes and traditional masks.
Audience members were encouraged to join in by clapping rhythms. This interactive program was made even more fun by watching several people from the audience get up and dance and drum with the performers.
Schools and other agencies in the area booked performances after seeing Sogbety Diomande’s show at the library. I would recommend this program to anyone interested in a fun, interactive show that will also introduce the audience to the culture of West Africa.
Deborah L. Dubois - Children’s Outreach Librarian
Mansfield/Richland County Public Library
06/21/2006
I just wanted to thank you again for doing such a outstanding job at St. Thomas Aquinas. More than one staff person told me how much they enjoyed having Sogbety there and were amazed at how much the kids learned in such a short time. It was such a pleasure working with you to coordinate the program and especially being able to see the program in action. I hope we will work together again soon
Annie McNally-Dienes - Associate Director of Education
Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio
Excellent! He engaged both students and staff. I would highly recommend to others.
Maleeka K. Bussey - Principal
Rowland Elementary School
Morley Library, Painesville, Oh, hosted Sogbety Diomande’s West African Drum and Dance Company for the Kick-off event of Black History Month 2007.
“Entertaining, energetic, and fabulous! Sogbety and his troupe are entertainers extraordinaire, a delight for all ages. They shared the spirit of West Africa with us and brought joy to all the attendees (who were reluctant to leave the Morley Music Hall). We had over 200 people attend this performance and have already requested a return engagement. In fact, after viewing the show, the City of Painesville immediately booked Sogbety to appear at the 2007 “Party in the Park”.
The entertainers are genuine, uplifting and generous, sharing not only their music, but their love for humankind and each other. Photos and hugs abounded after the performance.
I could not more highly recommend Sogbety Diamonde.”
Sara Eklund Payne - Head of Reference and Adult Services
Morley Library, Painesville, OH
WE LOVED EVERYTHING SOGBETY AND MOHA DID at our school. Students still talked about them today in music classes. They still remember the dance, song and drumming taught by Sogbety. My husband, Jere, who teaches at OSU, happened to have his students coming to visit our school on Tuesday. He said that Sogbety is such a master teacher. Sogbety knows exactly how and when to do things to help students to learn better. It was wonderful for OSU students to see how general music teacher works with artists.
Yeh-fen Chin - Music teacher
West Broad Elementary School, 2744 West Broad Street Columbus, OH 43204