A Session with Thomas Claude Kombia

Thomas Claude Kombia is a choreographer and dancer from the West African country of Burkina Faso. He works mainly in the field of teaching traditional African dances to children and young people.

He started dancing at the age of 8, in competitions between primary schools. He later became involved in various traditional African dance groups. He has worked with various renowned names: Aguibou Bougobali Sanou - he attended his classes and was later invited as a dancer to his In-Out Dance festival, Irėne Tassembédo - he attended several of her classes in various traditional dances, he was also involved in the classes Salie Sanou.

In 2008, he began competing as a dancer with various groups at the Semaine Nationale de la Culture (National Week of Culture), which takes place every two years.

In 2011, he collaborated as a dancer with Salio Sanu for the opening of the international film festival Fespaco.

He founded his own group, which he choreographed, with which he participated in various competitions (Couleur Vacances, Top Vacances culture).

In 2014, he choreographed the opening event for the Semaine Nationale de la Culture, in which 200 young people performed.

In 2018, he obtained a certificate that he is an artist and choreographer. In the same year, together with the group ARAC, they won 1st place at the Semaine Nationale de la Culture (Thomas performed in the roles of choreographer and dancer).

For several years in a row, he participated in Issa Sanou's creations for the Vapaj event.

In 2020, he founded the association Faso dia, of which he is still the president today. The association works in the field of education of children and young people in various arts: dance, theatre and music. As part of the association, he organized a three-day festival for two years, in the form of dance, theatre and music workshops for children and young people.

In 2022, he came to Slovenia, where he wants to use his experience to spread knowledge of African culture through dance and bring it closer to young people. Here he works with Studio XXV.

Thomas Claude Kombia je koreograf in plesalec, ki prihaja zahodnoafriške države Burkina Fasa. Deluje predvsem na področju poučevanja tradicionalnih afriških plesov otrok in mladostnikov.

S plesom je začel pri 8 letih, na tekmovanjih med osnovnimi šolami. Kasneje se je vključil v različne skupine tradicionalnih afriških plesov. Sodeloval je z različnimi priznanimi imeni: Aguibou Bougobali Sanou – prisostvoval je na njegovih tečajih in je bil kasneje povabljen kot plesalec na njegov festival In-Out Dance, Irėne Tassembédo – udeležil se je več njenih tečajev različnih tradicionalnih plesov, vključeval se je tudi v tečaje Salie Sanou. 

Leta 2008 je začel kot plesalec tekmovati z različnimi skupinami na Semaine Nationale de la Culture (nacionalni teden kulture), ki poteka vsaki dve leti.   

2011 je kot plesalec sodeloval s Salio Sanujem za otvoritev mednarodnega filmskega festivala Fespaco.   

Ustanovil je svojo skupino, ki jo je koreografiral, s katero je sodeloval na različnih tekmovanjih (Couleur vacances, Top vacances culture).

Leta 2014 je koreografiral uvodno prireditev za Semaine Nationale de la Culture, v kateri je nastopalo 200 mladostnikov. 

Leta 2018 je pridobil potrdilo, da je umetnik koreograf. Istega leta so s skupino ARAC na Semaine Nationale de la Culture osvojili 1. mesto (Thomas je nastopil v vlogah koreografa in plesalca).

Več let zapored je sodeloval v kreacijah Isse Sanou za dogodek Vapaj.

Leta 2020 je ustanovil društvo Faso dia, katerega predsednik je še danes. Društvo deluje na področju izobraževanja otrok in mladostnikov različnih umetnosti: plesa, gledališča in glasbe. V okviru društva je dve leti organiziral tridnevni festival v obliki delavnic plesa, gledališča in glasbe za otroke in mladostnike. 

Leta 2022 je prišel v Slovenijo, kjer želi s svojimi izkušnjami skozi ples širiti spoznavanje afriške kulture in jo približati mladim. Tu sodeluje s Studiem XXV.