Lily Kharrazi, ACTA特别项目主任
迪乌夫Zakarya
1938年2月12日- 2021年10月9日
In a film tribute produced by the 国家艺术基金会 to honor the 2020 National Heritage Fellows, 我们听到 迪乌夫Zak的S的声音叙述一段. 作为舞者和鼓手 迪亚玛诺·库拉西非舞蹈团 排练一段复杂的舞蹈, 他说, “…it’s a new generation; it evolves from the preceding one…the tradition is already 在这里, 你只需要把它传递下去.” The nation’s highest honor for traditional artists recognized the deep contributions of Zak and Naomi Diouf for their artistry and leadership as 西非 artists and mentors. 去感谢扎克爸爸, 他被许多人亲切地称为, 是拥抱一个人的故事, 一对夫妻艺术团队, 一家之主, 也是整个社区的导师.
ACTA与迪乌夫家族有着长期的合作关系, not only through support of their work through the 学徒计划 and 生活文化补助金s Program, 还有来自ACTA前董事会成员的强大影响力, Esailama Arty-Diouf, 撒克和拿俄米的女儿. 我们为支持他们的模范工作感到自豪，但不止于此, we have benefited and learned so much by the example they set for themselves and the community. 谨代表ACTA全体员工及董事会, 我们向迪乌夫的家人和社区表示哀悼和爱.
12月11日，奥克兰举行了一场庆祝生命的活动. While acknowledging that a stalwart of the community would no longer be in the physical form, 这一天是为社区而设的, 实际上是学生的大家庭, 艺术家和其他人, to come together through dance class with visiting master artists and an evening concert with the company that Zak迪乌夫 founded, 迪亚玛诺·库拉西非舞蹈团(意思是用沃洛夫语传递信息的人). T在这里 are eight children in his lineage who are actively involved in sustaining the traditions as company dancers, 鼓手和教师. 有12个孙子准备参加, the Diouf family has and continues to contribute to making Oakland an epicenter for the study of African dance for over four decades.
We share some history and perspective of 迪乌夫Zakarya’s story and the Diouf legacy excerpted from a nomination letter that ACTA initiated on behalf of the Dioufs for the National Heritage Fellowship, 国家对民间和传统艺术的最高荣誉:
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欣赏扎卡里亚·迪乌夫的影响, it is critical to understand his work in the context of a ripe and ready Oakland and 海湾地区. 这是黑豹党和激进主义的奥克兰. The Black Arts Movement of the 1960s fomented a yearning for lost and imagined connections to the African motherland. 跳舞rs and drummers were widely involved in Pan-African practices of the day as a marker of Black pride so that the arrival of African artists was timely. 扎卡里亚·迪乌夫是第一个到达的文化传播者，随后是C.K. 来自加纳的Ladzepko和来自刚果布拉柴维尔的Malonga Casquelourd. 大师艺术家的这种同步性是选集中一个章节的一部分, 热脚和社会变革:非洲舞蹈和散居社区, (Esailama Diouf编辑, Kariamu威尔士, 和伊冯·丹尼尔). Dr. Halifu Osumare, 加州大学戴维斯分校非洲研究名誉教授, writes in her article on Oakland dance history that “…traditional African dance from the continent with its ‘fierce freedom of the soul’ began to infuse the community that had already been ‘raised’ on African diasporan dance.” Dr. Osumare指的是先锋舞者和研究者的影响, 凯瑟琳·邓纳姆, 谁根据加勒比海地区的人种学田野调查编纂了一种运动技术. 邓纳姆技术, 现代舞和非洲侨民运动的强烈结合, 已经影响并培养了一批熟练的舞者. 露丝的贝克福德, Dunham公司的前成员, taught locally through the Oakland Parks and Recreation Department and many Black artists in the East Bay trace their first exposure to dance training to Ms. 贝克福德和邓纳姆家族. It was also due to Miss Dunham’s discerning genius that Zak迪乌夫 first came to the United States. 1996年，他在达喀尔的第一届世界黑人艺术节(World Festival of Negro Arts)上相遇，并同意加入她的行列. Dunham in establishing her performing arts institute associated with Southern Illinois University in in East St. 路易. 这也成为他获得第一个博士学位的机会.D. 在芝加哥大学攻读生物化学专业. 后来，他在加州大学伯克利分校获得了第二个民族音乐学博士学位.
扎克1969年移民之前, he had a distinguished career as the artistic director of multiple national ballet companies: Les Ballet Africaines of 几内亚 (1963), 塞内加尔国家芭蕾舞团(1964-68), 在这些杰出的公司之前, 他是马里舞蹈团的团长, 由来自马里的艺术家组成, 塞内加尔和几内亚. This company provided an anecdote to the nationalism that had separated ethnic groups by political boundaries. While this experiment was short-lived and the countries went back to nationalist ambitions, 扎克是经历过该地区殖民统治的活生生的历史概要, 它的独立性, 而且重要的是, 表演中各种文化习俗的艺术升华. While ethnic representation by state- sponsored dance companies can be problematic by simplifying the complexity of identity for stage presentation, 这个系统也培养了一些世界上杰出的人才. 如今，大量散居海外的非洲艺术大师都在接受这种培训.
对于Zak, a job in biochemistry led him to the 海湾地区 as well as the specter of working with Dimensions 跳舞 Theater, 这是奥克兰舞蹈史上的另一个重要组织. 随着大本营的建立, 娜奥米成为表演公司的艺术总监, Diamano Coura. 每周有三次舞蹈班和音乐班, the company has a vast repertoire reflecting specific ethnicities from Zak and Naomi’s respective Senegal and Liberia as well as material originating in Mali, 几内亚, 科特迪瓦, 和冈比亚. 他们的特色舞蹈有kpel
迪乌夫夫妇还咨询过各种类型的作品, 特别是与Val Carniporili合作为旧金山芭蕾舞团创作《hg体育平台》, 使用J.S. 巴赫和加蓬的音乐. 这项合作工作与其他美国人一起得到了进一步的发展.S. 在1995年首演后，美国和欧洲的公司纷纷效仿. Zak received an Emmy Award for his part in the musical score of Alex Haley’s Roots “Part I” in 1976, 在他获得的众多奖项中. 2005年，与已故国会众议员罗恩. Dellums, the 旧金山 Foundation honored Zak with the Community Leadership Award for his vision in unifying the African cultural arts community and serving as a mentor to so many young people.
Another important area w在这里 the Dioufs have tilled and nurtured the field is as the anchors for other master immigrant artists who model their careers on the trajectory of Mama Naomi and Papa Zak. 24年来, 他们制作了一个充满活力的为期四天的集训课程，被称为非洲文化拼贴课. The event brings together African immigrant artists who live 在这里 and abroad to teach and perform. 说这座建筑从里到外摇晃一点也不夸张, as Collage is a destination festival for serious dance and drum practitioners who attend from all over the country.
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在最传统的意义上, the eight Diouf children are among the lineage who will continue on the work of 迪乌夫Zakarya. They are already prominently involved in the activities of the company and are artists in their own right who dance, 打手鼓, and create regalia in addition to their other broad careers as second generation Americans. 然而,, 所有亲切而恭敬地叫他扎克爸爸的人都告诉了他这个故事, 千分之几. We have learned many tangible and intangible things through Papa Zak迪乌夫 who contributed to the field much integrity and a window into parts of the huge continent of Africa from right 在这里 in Oakland, 海湾地区, 加州, 美国.
Dr. 扎卡里亚·迪乌夫将被安葬在他深爱的塞内加尔.
可以为他的返乡做出贡献 在这里.
