About
Niall Delahan
Founding member of Wassa Wassa Workshops and Wassa Wassa Drum & Dance Collective.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceHQD8_hPA8
Niall Delahan was raised in Celbridge and started his music career at the age of eight studying traditional Irish Music through the piano accordion. By the time he was eleven he could read and write music score, reached grade five and was highly placed in any competition he entered. He started playing drum kit at the age of sixteen and at seventeen started as a music producer.
Discovering the djembe and the percussion music of West Africa at the age of 19 Niall soon decided that if he was going to focus on one kind of music, this was the one for him! He joined the group W.A.P. (West African Percussion), who were doing drumming shows around Dublin, playing a regular slot with Ronan O’Snodaigh of Kila on Saturday nights at The Gaiety Theatre.
Niall became engrossed with West African Music and Culture when he first visited Ghana in 2002. Since then he has studied Percussion in many different countries in the region including Guinea, Gambia, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin. He has played with world renowned artists such as Famoudou Konate, Siaka Deni Keita, Baboura Bangora, Amara Kante, Abdoulaye Camara and Casoum Dembele.
Niall was one of the founders of the Percussion group Djembe Faso. Specialising in djembe, dunduns, vocals and working on the group’s arrangements. Djembe Faso toured Ireland in 2007 playing at events such as The Electric Picnic, The Garden Party, Dun Laoighre Festival Of World Cultures and the Dublin Docklands Festival. Niall has performed in high profile shows with well-known artists such as The Wailers (Bob Marley’s Band), Ronan O Snodaigh (Kila), Okoe Ardifio and Simone Annoh (Ghanian Master Drummers) and produced the main music event for Irish Aid & Africa Day in 2011 featuring his own band Wassa Wassa, Niwel tSumbo, Nansady Keita and Dub Investigation.
Niall returned from an extended study period in Burkina Faso in the summer of 2008 and decided to form Wassa Wassa Workshops and Wassa Wassa Drum & Dance Collective (featuring percussion, song and contemporary & traditional dance from West Africa). Wassa Wassa has grown from strength to strength and Niall also delivers drum and dance workshops t0 schools, festivals and community organisations around Ireland.
Wassa Wassa Workshops also regularly invite African Master drummers and dancers to Ireland to provide high quality workshops and performances-see our events page for upcoming events. Niall’s current African Music collaborator is Sadjo Sissokho, Kora master from Guinea Bissau.Niall has also recently collaborated with well known Dublin acts such as Dub Investigation and The Dirty Dubsters.
Nathalie Grand
Dance Facilitator & Performer
Nathalie was born in Britanny France. She started to dance at the age of 6 and has never stopped.
Nathalie studied with Wayne Barbaste for many years and then attended a professional course in Espace Pleiade in Paris. In 2000, she moved to Ireland to follow dance studies course at Inchicore College. During these years, she won the 2nd prize for contemporary dance in the INDA (Irish National Dance Awards) and was dancing with DYDC (Dublin Youth Dance Company). In 2003 she was awarded a Distinction for my Fetac Certificate in Dance Studies. In 2005 Nathalie completed her Diploma with the RAD (Royal Academy of Dance) and in 2006 Nathalie received her Certificate in Dance Education form the ISTD (Imperial Society of Dance Teacher).
She has been working as a dance instructor since 2002.
Nathalie is particularly interested in youth dance, dance for camera, ethnic dance and dance therapy.
In her classes you will learn steps, technique, dance moves but will also be free to express yourself.
Nathalie believes we all have a dancer in us. We just need to find it.
Aileen Balfe
Visual Art Facilitator
Aileen is a multidisciplinary artist. Her work is an eclectic mix of art, design, photography, and textiles. She has worked as an arts facilitator at several community organisations and schools. She has a degree in Interior and Furniture Design and most recently she graduated from the National College of Art and Design with a postgraduate diploma in Community Arts Education. Aileen spent several years abroad in Japan on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme and in Indonesia after being awarded the Darmasiswa scholarship to study Indonesian textiles in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Aileen’s experiences in teaching, travelling, and within other cultures imbued her interest in collaborative art practice and ignites a similar passion for exploration and creativity in her students.
Wassa Wassa Workshops, Celbridge, Co. Kildare 01 6275795/087 6938016