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Olivier Tarpaga
| Affiliation: | Faculty |
| Title: | Visiting Professor |
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Olivier Tarpaga is an international dancer, choreographer, musician, composer, songwriter and storyteller originally from Burkina Faso. He received the prestigious Lester Horton Award from the Los Angeles Dance Resource Center in 2009 for his choreographic work. Tarpaga is the founder and artistic director of the internationally acclaimed Dafra Drum since 1995, Dafra Kura Band since 2011, and the co-founder of Baker & Tarpaga Dance Project. He has worked and collaborated with choreographers such as David Rousseve, Brett Raphael, Christian Canciani, Ousseni Sako and Lacina Coulibaly. In 2008 Tarpaga was commissioned by the Connecticut Ballet and award winning choreographer Brett Raphael to choreograph "Visage". Tarpaga has worked, performed, collaborated and recorded with rock artist POE at Capitol Records in Hollywood. In 2008 he was invited to re-interpret Beethoven's 9th Symphony with West African instruments in a sold-out concert with British singer Billy Bragg. Tarpaga plays numerous traditional instruments and is an expert of the Djembé drum. Tarpaga has performed and taught drumming and dance with his companies or in solo at international festivals, theaters, universities and schools in over forty five counties in Africa, America, Asia, Australia and Europe.
