My father is a South African actor who danced in broadway musicals for 'Lion King.'
I fell through a stage once. I was doing a truly African dance, and all of a sudden, I hit the ground with my foot and went straight through the stage. I guess they didn't have much money, so the floor was kind of rotting.
It's obvious that the rest of the world loves high African culture - African culture, period.
'Makossa' is from Africa, and it means 'dance.' It's also the name for this type of music. In my song, I decided to mix in some Jamaican sounds, like the steel drums.
Americans will be amazed to find ho many of the modern dance steps are relics of the African heritage.
I've been doing African dance all my life.
As I got older, I started to do it more and more, and I wanted to learn all of the different types. I grew up doing modern, so I wanted to learn ballet, tap, jazz, and African - just everything.
I'd taken, like, maybe some African dance classes a couple of times, but I wasn't a musical theater person at all.
My name, Solange, means 'Angel of the sun,' and I'm completely enamored of my African history. The culture is so expressive.
When you have caught the rhythm of Africa, you find out that it is the same in all her music.
