The Prince Claus Fund instigated both the Opera’s concept and the project itself. The Fund is the initiator, impetus and client; it also assumes ultimate responsibility. The Prince Claus Fund is a platform for intercultural exchange. It works jointly with individuals and organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean on the realisation of activities and publications reflecting a contemporary approach to the themes of culture and development.
www.princeclausfund.org
The Sahel Opera Foundation is responsible for the implementation of the production, the tour and the exploitation of the Sahel Opera. The Foundation is housed at the offices of the Prince Claus Fund in The Hague. Martijn Sanders, the former director of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, is the Foundation’s Chairman. Its members are: Tom de Swaan (treasurer), the chief financial officer of ABN AMRO; Pauline Kruseman (secretary), the director of the Amsterdam Historical Museum; Lilian Gonçalves-Ho Kang You, former vice-chairman of the Board of OPTA, Morris Tabaksblat, the former chairman of the Board of Unilever and Marcel Smit, CFO and member of the Board of Advisors of KPN NV.
Cheick Oumar Sissoko was a Malian filmmaker when he received the Prince Claus Award in 1999. As Minister of Culture of Mali, he participated enthusiastically in the creation of the Sahel Opera. The government of Mali became a co-producer of the project and the capital, Bamako, hosted the world premiere of the Opera in February, 2007.
The Netherlands Embassy in Bamako, Mali, supports the Sahel Opera Project. The Netherlands Embassy is in close contact with the Dutch and Malian producers and mediates where necessary.
Théâtre du Châtelet first opened its doors as an opera house in 1862. It now offers a wide range of opera, dance and music performances . Two hundred thousand people visit the opera house each year. The new Director, Jean-Luc Choplin, has created a programme which focuses on diversity in both music and audience. He stimulates innovative projects such as the Sahel Opera and, with performances like these, works to promote a dialogue between cultures.
www.chatelet-theatre.com
Founded in 1996 by Oumou Sy and Michel Mavros, Metissacana set up Africa’s first internet service company and is considered a pioneer in the creation of an Internet mass media in Africa. Metissacana organises a yearly international Fashion Week and Dakar’s carnival parade and is involved in international and national events, such as the Millennium Ceremony, Biennale Dak’Art exhibition and the Mois de la Photo show. In 2004 Metissacana opened the first African Fashion Café.
www.metissacana.sn
Before his untimely death in October 2006, Michel Mavros was Metissacana’s director and worked closely with the Prince Claus Fund as production co-ordinator for The Sahel Opera as well as talent scout for Africa. Mavros had years of experience producing films, particularly in Africa and France. For the last ten years of his life he lived primarily in Dakar, organising various international events in Senegal.
www.metissacana.sn
The first Sahel Opera workshops took place at L’École des Sables dance school in Toubab Dialaw, Senegal. L’École des Sables has been home to The Jant-Bi Company since 1998, when artistic director Germaine Acogny organised the first professional workshop for traditional and contemporary African dance.
The school’s objectives involve educating African dancers and functioning as a platform for dancers and choreographers from the African Diaspora and from different cultures throughout the world. Jant-Bi endorses the school’s objectives and propagates them by inviting choreographers from all corners of the globe to fuse their culture and dance styles with the essence of African dance.
Jant-Bi’s objectives consist of: developing an international network and discovering new artistic approaches; setting up exchange programs with other dance institutions throughout the world; creating ‘fusion projects’ that link dance with other art forms such as theatre and organising international conferences to discuss dance as it is deployed in the fields of the arts, society, education, health and research.
The dancer and choreographer Germaine Acogny and manager Helmut Vogt from Jant-Bi are part of the Sahel Opera production team.
The Dutch Postcode Lottery donated Euro 1,5 million to the Prince Claus Fund, as a major contribution for the production of the Sahel Opera. The lottery, which is the largest charity lottery in The Netherlands, contributes 50 percent of its annual profit to carefully selected aid organizations and charities. Since 2001 the Prince Claus Fund benefits from the lottery’s profits each year.
Forty-nine organizations and charities worldwide currently benefit from the lottery, such as Unicef, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Save the Children, The Red Cross, Terre des Hommes and others. In 2003, the lottery’s revenue was Euro 362 million.
www.postcodeloterij.nl
