Balbancha Dance Festival

Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of African Diaspora dance at the 'Balbancha Dance Festival'—named after the Indigenous word Balbancha, meaning 'the place of many tongues,' the original name for the land now known as New Orleans. This festival showcases the rich diversity and powerful legacy of movement traditions spanning the African Diaspora. From the soulful dances of Haiti to the contagious energy of New Orleans Bounce, this celebration honors the deep cultural ties that unite us through rhythm, movement, history, song, and story.

Featured Dance Forms:

  • Afro- Haitian Dance

  • Afro-Cuban Dance

  • Afro-Brazilian Dance

  • Grenadian Folkloric Dance

  • W. African Dance (Guinean)

  • New Orleans Second Line Aesthetic

  • New Orleans Bounce

Through this weekend, we connect the past and the present, inviting dancers and audiences to celebrate the spirit of the African Diaspora. Whether through the powerful storytelling of Haitian and Cuban culture, the explosive energy of Bounce, or the rhythmic pulse of West African and Second Line traditions, "Balbancha Dance Festival" brings together the many voices and bodies of the Black experience in a celebration of heritage, resilience, and community.

Come celebrate, dance, and honor our shared roots!

  • Executive Producer

    Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Kelly Seph White is a performer, choreographer, researcher, and dance educator. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from the University of Southern Mississippi and an M.A. in Dance Education from New York University.  She is the mother to a bright and beautiful daughter named Morgan.  In 17 years of living in New York City, Kelly had the honor of studying under the great Jean Leon Destine, Baba Richard Gonzalez, Nia Love, Ronald K. Brown, Nadia Dieudonne, and Aussettua Amor Amenkum (New Orleans).  She was also honored to have trained and performed at the American Dance Festival, Plaza Cuba, New Waves Trinidad, Bates Dance Festival, and Jacob’s Pillow.  Ms. White has performed with Ase Dance Theater Collective, Kumbuka African Drum and Dance Collective, Kwame Ross's Prophecy Dance Works, and Nia Love’s Blacksmith’s Daughter.  Her choreography has been performed in venues and productions such as the 92nd Street Y, Psychotherapy Network Association Conference, Mixed Flava’s Performance Series, Dance Africa, Feast: A Yoruba Project, and Voices of Congo Square New Orleans where she also served as the Associate Director.

    Ms. White is a second-generation educator who has brought the art form of dance to a host of colleges and public schools located in Florida, Cuba, Louisiana, Georgia, California, Mississippi, Vermont, Texas, New Jersey, and New York.  In 2017, Kelly co-founded and is the Director of EVOLVE Diaspora, where she creates weekend intensives, cultural immersion trips, and community classes for professional dancers, researchers, scholars, and educators to intensely study dances of the African Diaspora. Currently, she is on staff teaching African Diaspora Dance Styles at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Professor of dance at the Southern University and A&M College and is the Director of Education at Young Audiences of Louisiana.

BDF Advisory Council

Ausettua Amor Amenkum

Artistic Director, Kumbuka African Drum & Dance Collective

Ausettua Amor Amenkum is the Big Queen of the Washita Nation, Artistic Director of Kumbuka African Drum and Dance Collective, and the Performance Director and choreographer for The Graduates, a New Orleans-based performing arts organization comprised of former members of the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW) Drama Club. She is on the path of manifesting her spiritual destiny. And believes her role is to educate, present, research and preserve traditional African and African American culture. 

She makes every attempt to see God in all who she encounters and that is the guiding motivation towards determining the work that she does. Ausettua recognizes that she has not chosen her path, it was chosen for her. So whether she is dancing in an Indian suit in Europe, presenting African dance in a prison, giving young people opportunities to exhibit their creativity, cooking vegan food or training 9-1-1 dispatchers, she continues to offer her life as a living sacrifice to the ancestors and the liberation of African people!   

Sulé Adams

Arts Administrator | Cultural Producer

As a dancer, Sulé has performed with renowned companies such as Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, Francine E. Ott/The Walk, Soweto Street Beat, and N’Kafu Traditional African Dance Company, touring both regionally and internationally. Beyond performance, he is the creator and ongoing producer of HomeGrown, a series of events that celebrate artists’ contributions to the cultural heritage of their communities through performances, exhibitions, talks, and workshops. He also leads Heart of the Matter with Sulé, an initiative designed to uplift and educate artists by offering inspiration and administrative support.

Driven by a deep passion for the arts, Sulé is committed to building stronger communities through arts education and outreach. Guided by the motto, “Dance is always a work through spirit,” he continues to support and inspire fellow dreamers in his role as Senior Director of Programming at Moving in the Spirit.   

Stephanie McKee-Anderson

Executive Artistic Director, Junebug Productions

Stephanie McKee-Anderson is a performer, choreographer, educator, facilitator and cultural organizer born in Picayune, MS and raised in New Orleans.

She is the founder of Moving Stories Dance Project, an organization committed to dance education that provides opportunities for dancers and choreographers to showcase their talents. In 2007, she was awarded The Academy of Educational Development/New Voices Fellowship, an award for emerging leaders.

For the past 20 years, Stephanie has been involved with Junebug Productions as an artist and educator. Most recently she served as Associate Artistic Director of the first annual Homecoming Project 2011, a place-based performance project that addresses the Right of Return and what home means to communities in post-Katrina New Orleans. In 2006, Stephanie was one of ten artists who collaborated to create the original production, “UPROOTED: The Katrina Project,” co-produced by Junebug Productions.

As an artist and cultural organizer, Stephanie is deeply committed to creating work that supports social justice and aligns with the FST and Junebug legacy.