The Lucky African Dance team brings together a unique fusion of artistry and culture to deliver transformational rhythm and dance experiences. Drawing on the unique expertise and talents of a range of African and multicultural drummers and dancers Lucky African Dance brings you one of kind performances, workshops and team building sessions.
Lucky Lartey
Lucky Lartey founded Lucky African Dance in 2012 to share his love for African performance arts and culture with Australia. Lucky uses his unique position as a performing artist and cultural performer to create experiences that transform and inspire audiences, teams and students across Australia.
As one of Australia’s most dynamic West African performers, Lucky is well known for his high energy contemporary dance style and his super high split jumps. Lucky is an accomplished and experienced African dancer both in Ghana and Australia and has more than 18 years of training and experience in Traditional African dance and Afro Contemporary. Lucky’s performance repertoire includes choreography from Traditional African, Gumboot dance, and Afro-Contemporary dance. Lucky’s knowledge of dance includes dance routines from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Senegal, South Africa and other parts of Africa.
Lucky is also at the forefront of intercultural and fusion choreography in Australia seen in his original choreographies and work with the Jamestown Collective – Jamestown! And INFUSION No Movement No Sound.
Lucky teaches and performs around Sydney and Australia and has taught people of all ages and abilities to dance with feeling and connect to the beauty and spirit of African dance. Lucky’s vision is to perform, teach and choreograph African traditional and contemporary African dance in Australia and to bring people together to create understanding across all cultures by sharing the beauty and natural power of African music and dance.
Pepsie Magonya
Pepsie has over a decade of experience performing and teaching African dance. She does Southern African traditional dance (Zulu dance, Tswana dance, all Zimbabwean traditional dances) Zaoli from Ivory Coast, Gumboot dance a Zimbabwean & South African miners dance and Pantsula, a South African dance. She has toured the world – Europe, Africa, America with Iyasa an award-winning group from Zimbabwe. While working with young children and adults. Also collaborated with Theatro piccolo and Dschungel Vien from Austria under Assitej. Later she worked with Mother Africa circus and Cirque Africa performed in Dollywood festival and Fringe festival Adelaide.
Yacou Mbaye
Yacou Mbaye was born in Dakar, Senegal and coming from a family of musicians, it is no wonder that from a tender age he exhibited a flair for music and dance. His first performance was at the age of 6 for a crowd of 10,000 people! It must have been an enjoyable experience for Yacou, as in 1997 and again in 2000 Yacou and his sister Mejoure won the highly regarded ‘Oscar de Vacance’ dance and percussion competition. Yacou’s instruments of choice are Sabar, Djembe, Dun Duns and Tama/Talking Drum – (A small drum which is played whilst being held under the armpit).
Philippe Lincy
Philippe Lincy was born in Guadeloupe and has studied African drumming in Guinea and other parts of Africa. Philippe has recorded with Renee Gayer, Dale Barlow, Carl Orr, Monica and Moochers and Wendy Matthews. He has performed with highly acclaimed African Drum bands and has lectured on African Music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, conducted many African drumming workshop and toured educational institutions of Australia on behalf of the Education Department performing and teaching African Rhythms.
