Sidonie Madoki

Belgian of Congolese origin, Sidonie Madoki Ndandu was born in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Two passions guide his professional and artistic life: pedagogy and dance.
Since 1983, after obtaining her A1 teacher's diploma, she has been working at Les Weigélias, a centre for mentally handicapped children and teenagers. There she develops an approach to dance for this target group.
Dance has always been part of her life and always finds a place in her different activities. At first it was a free expression, then it became structured thanks to the techniques and training courses followed. The first technique that she still approaches as a child is classical dance. Then, her choices moved towards jazz and modern dance.
It was only at the end of her higher education that, in parallel with a need to assert her identity, Sidonie Madoki felt the need to return to a dance close to her origins.
She was trained in African dances in Belgium by Mama Adama Caramra, principal dancer of the National Ballet of Guinea, accompanied by the master percussionist Mamady Keïta, by Anne-Marie Boutiaux and Ken Ndaye (Senegal), Jeanne Bagne (Congo), José Bawayi (DR Congo), Geoges Momboye (Ivory Coast), Merlin Nyakam and Zam Ebale (Cameroon) .
She completed her training in Senegal, DR Congo, Ivory Coast and Burundi.
Sidonie Madoki is lucky enough to be able to work on Cuban Afro dances such as Yoruba and rumba during her visits to Havana.
She participates in many shows as a dancer, choreographer, singer and actress, both in Africa and in Europe.
Her desire has always been to create bridges between her two identities, Belgian and Congolese. Dance has been a wonderful way to do this.
It is with this objective that Banafro, a non-profit organisation she presides over, was created in 1994.
It is with this association that many courses can be organized for groups of children, teenagers and adults, both in Belgium and in Africa.