About Delou

Fostering unity in our community!ONE dance, many movements.
ONE rhythm, many beats.
ONE universe many cultures.

At Delou Africa, Inc. we bridge gaps by celebrating diversity, encouraging equity and promoting inclusion through cultural arts and education. Express yourself! Be creative! Feel empowered! – together we build bridges not walls.

Our Mission

Our mission is to bridge cultural gaps and preserve African culture by facilitating artistic education through traditional African dance, drum, music, art and history. Our goal is to provide children and adults of our diverse community the opportunity for expression, growth and appreciation in a supportive and nurturing environment.

Our Approach

Continue to provide an on-going platform that showcases and educates the general public on the rich traditions of Africa.
Establish a learning center where children and adults from all walks of life can experience the rich traditions of Africa by introducing individuals to the A-CEO concept ( Arts, Culture, Education and Opportunity).

Our History

The meaning of DELOU is “Back or Return to”. Delou is from the Wolof language spoken in Senegal West Africa.

Delou Africa Dance Ensemble (D.A.D.E.), was established in 1987 by Njeri Plato to provide a platform that showcases the rich traditions of West Africa through artistic expression, education and cultural preservation.

D.A.D.E. is a premier cultural arts, traditional West African, folklore company comprised of an artist’s collective of talented drummers/musicians, dancers and oral historians/storytellers. Their purpose is to foster awareness, by connecting the timeless traditions of West Africa to the vast presence of the African Diaspora. Their performance presentations are motivated by folktale and life transitions that inspires cultural artistic interpretations that leaves their audience captivated.

D.A.D.E. expanded their brand to include a more in-depth community outreach opportunity which resulted in the creation of Delou Africa, Inc. in 2010…Read More

Our Objectives

To show the positive impact that African dance, drum, music and history have on our society and its influence in the arts.
To ensure students explore Africa as a discovery of geographic awareness.
To implement African dance, drum and music as part of teachers and educational institutions artistic programming.
To emphasize the vital connections of our global community by discovering the interesting facts of African culture, resources and history.
To discover and understand that African dance drum and music is an expression of life stories.
To learn African languages through songs.
To encourage a sense of belonging, not just to one country, but a global community through online global exchanges where students in America can connect and engage with students in Africa.
To promote the history of Africa through the universal language of African dance, drum and music.