Wacheva Executive/Artistic Director

Biboti Ouikahilo (Be-boh-tea We-ka-he-low)

In his Word he said : "Since modernization has emerged in our cultures, today African dance and drum is recognized internationally as the first manifestation of African culture.

It’s a profound display of the body, as well as a means of expression from the deepest place within one’s being. So for me I want to be able today to share the joy of this culture among other institutions through the classes and stage from children, parents, families and community members of all backgrounds like it happens in my village. And also as a way to unify people of all societies, religions, cultures"

Owner/Executive & Artistic Director

Artistic Director of Wacheva dance & drum ensemble: 2004-Present

African Dance Education:

Ivory Coast National company of dance

Trained professionally as a dancer and drummer.

Performed, trained dancers and choreographed pieces -- toured throughout Ex-Yugoslavia, Mexico, Morocco, Belgium, East & West Germany, France, Kenya, Italy, England, Spain, Benin, Togo, and Martinique etc!

Workshops/Performances and Lecture Demonstrations

In the Central New York Colleges and Universities

Syracuse University, Ithaca College, Canisius College, Hamilton College, Cazenovia College, SUNY Cortland State College, SUNY Oswego State, Onondaga Community College, Finger lakes Community College, North Country Community College, Saranac Lake Community College, Elmira College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Jefferson Community College, Lehman College, Wells College, LeMoyne College, Utica College, Hudson Valley Community College. Keuka College, Wells College and beyond the State, and Buffalo University.

Elementary – High School

Onondaga Hill Middle School, Stonehedge Elementary School, Gillette Road Middle School, Danforth Middle School, Deryder Elementary School, Fitzugh Elementary School, Kingsford Park School, Union Springs Middle School, Driden Elementary School, Millard Hawk Primary School, West Genesee High School, New Haven Elementary School, Granby Elementary School, Lanigan Elementary School, Onondaga Road Elementary School, Madison Central School, Utica Central Schools, Syracuse Montessori School, Clinton Central Schools, Syracuse Latin elementary School with YMCA organization, Maple Hill Elementary School, William A Carter elementary School and beyond the State.

Community Venues

Oswego Harborfest, NYS Fair, Ithaca Festival, Westcott Cultural Fair, Syracuse Arts and Crafts Festival, Open Hand Theatre, Onondaga Dance Institute, Mayfest, Juneteenth, Everson Museum of Art, Utica Dance Academy, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Rae’s Institute of Dance & Movement, Island Health & Fitness, Sacketts Harbor, Dance Arts Center, Utica Dance Works Studio, Stone Quarry Art Park

Performing Experience:

Wacheva Dance, & DrumEnsemble Syracuse, NY

Director, producer, choreographer, dancer, Mask dancer and drummer

Kotchegna Dance Company New York, NY 2000 to 2003

African dancer, drummer and Mask dancer

“Tears of the Sun” Honolulu, HI 4/02 to 07/02

Acted in a Hollywood film starring Bruce Willis

Jimmy Buffet Tour United States 6/00 to 09/01

Toured as leader of African Drummers for Jimmy Buffet’s Summer Tour

Choreographing Experience:

Wacheva Dance, & Drum Ensemble Syracuse, NY 2004 to present

Africa Azolou Indianapolis, Indiana 08/97 to 11/97

Ivory Coast National Dance Company West Africa 01/95 to 01/97

Wacheva Dance Company West Africa 07/94 to 12/95

Ivory Coast National Ballet International Tour

Syracuse University:

Music Beyond Borders (annual show who bring together all the SU students’ artists from everywhere in the World.

-Dr. Carol Barbiracky class

-Dr. Eleene Stremple class

-Dr. Bile Cole class

-Dr. Sydney Jane Hutchinson class.

-Dr. Danielle Brown class

August 2008, Biboti’s and Jill has led a 4000 square foot building stood derelict for more than 15 years to renovate and made it into the dance studio.

2012 become US Citizens and he was the keno speaker for the ceremony

2023, Biboti became one of the teaching faculty members at Hamilton College.

(Dance Department)

Skills

Excellent teaching ability.

Biography:

Biboti Ouikahilo: Founder, Executive and Artistic director, Choreographer, African dance and drum teacher.

He was born in the Kouetinfla Progouri region, Sinfra. Center West of Ivory Coast, West Africa. In December 1980, Biboti began his career as a professional dancer with the famous national dance company of Côte d'Ivoire.

Tours around the world have allowed him to share his talents in several countries, including Morocco, the former East and West Germany, Belgium, England, France, the former. Yugoslavia, Italy, Kenya, Spain, Mexico, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, and Martinique.

In 1988, the director of the National Ballet of Côte d'Ivoire, Louis Akin, appointed him as coach of all the new dancers. This opportunity led to the start of his choreographic career.

As the founder, producer, choreographer and dancer of the Wacheva Dance Company in 1994, he began to express his own artistic abilities. In his words, he said, "All over the world we can find the dance school, but you will never find the school of choreography. "

For him to be a choreographer, you must be guided by the wording of the piece and have confidence in yourself - that is the philosophy of the choreography. Where you use the song, the costumes, the dances, the rhythm, the lighting etc etc!

This philosophy led him to create his first play talking about the AIDS pandemic.
The title was "God's Revenge?" Due to the success of the play, he became a founding member of Ivory National Compagnie of dance in 1995, after the dissolution of the Ballet national de Côte d'Ivoire.

From 1992 to 1994, he was invited to be a judge for Vacances Culture and Variotoscope. Who was a national cultural organization that selected the best artists in the country, including works of dance, song and theater. The auditions were held every summer and were broadcast nationally on television and radio.

In 1997, a local theater in Indianapolis, IN, USA started recruiting my colleagues and myself. This is where the West African artist and choreographer began to reside permanently in the United States. So he teamed up with other colleagues to create Africa Azolou. A festive show from Africa, Brazil and the United States. The group's success brought the show to Ohio, Chicago and New York.

After the contract, New York became the home of its West African teaching styles and techniques.
He taught for 6 years at the famous Djoniba Dance and Drum Center, as well as at the Abizaid Studio and Lehman College.

Biboti has worked with young children at Ifetayo Cultural Arts in Brooklyn, NY. The mission of this extracurricular program for him was to teach African culture and the art of dance and also to learn Western culture through this cultural exchange.

Throughout his teaching career in New York, he was able to nurture his passion for the show when he was chosen as the main African drummer and dancer for Jimmy Buffett's summer tour in 2000-2001.

The West African dancer, drummer and choreographer continued to express his artistic abilities. In 2002, when he went to Hawaii to take part in the Hollywood film "Tears of the Sun", with Bruce Willis.

Then in July 2003, he moved to Syracuse, NY, where he met his wife, Jill Ouikahilo. With her help, Biboti won over the entire Centre New York Community with his program.

But he chose the city of Syracuse as his base. It was from there that Jill linked Biboti program with other organizations in central New York and beyond.

In 2004, he partnered with Partners for Arts Education, a local organization that provides funding and support to deepen and enrich educational experiences in and through the arts for students, teachers and artists. In 2005, he also partnered with the Arts-in-Education program in Oswego County BOCES, teaching dance and drum workshops in West Africa and performing dance, drum and mask in Africa. West in elementary, middle and high schools in central New York. Since moving to Syracuse, he has been able and continues to share his culture and his art through a large number of different count of K-12 and universities.

As of Onondaga, Cayuga, Cortland, Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Oswego, Tompkins, Erie County, Jefferson, Fulton, Clinton, Chenango, Schenectady, Sullivan, Chemung County, Madison County, St. Lawrence county, Albany county etc! etc!.

Biboti works with the dance studios (Performing Arts) Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute, Dance center of Utica, Rae’s Institute of Dance and Dance Works Studio, etc! etc!

In 2004 and 2005, he received an individual artist's grant from the Syracuse Cultural Resources Council, where he organized a dance / drum workshop weekend and a performance event. He invited his former colleagues from New York. A collection of professional dance and drum teachers in West Africa, to teach dance workshops and drum at the Westcott Community Center and perform at the Everson Museum of Art for the good of the community.

For three years, the workshops and performances were very
attended by individuals from all over Central New York, such as Ithaca, Rochester, Utica, Oswego and Watertown, Buffalo and even Canada.

Since 2004, he has shared his culture at the University of Syracuse with different classes of Professors. Such Dr Carol Barbiracky, Dr Eleene Stremple, Dr Bile Cole, Dr Sydney J. Hutchinson, Dr Danielle Brown. Through dance and drum workshops, conference demonstrations and live performances.

And 2007 Biboti took his wife Jill Ouikahilo to his country to introduce her to his parents. It was a great joy to see each other after 10 years without seeing them. And in addition, by introducing them his wife who was from a different culture, and continent, it was an unforgettable moment.

And back from the vacation trip to get to know his family and especially where he comes from,

He and his wife were ready to go back to work.

They sat down and said that after four years of only sharing Biboti's West African dance and drum program throughout the CNY community, we have seen the need for our services increase in schools. and organizations that do not have the financial means to benefit from our program.

Because the mission was to share this culture and art with everyone in the community. In order to fill these requests and sustain, we have decided it’s necessary to reorganize ourselves as a non-profit organization, making us eligible for grant funding.

This would allow us to better meet the needs of the community and schools. Then Wacheva could frequently provide, a special offering at the expense of the organization, free classes in our various disciplines, as a way to allow people the opportunity to experience the art and culture where costs may be a barrier. That was the purpose to bring as Non-For-Profit organization.

In January 2008, Wacheva received a not-for-profit, 501c3 tax- exempt status.

Today Wacheva Cultural Arts is a not-for-profit organization with 501(c)3 tax-exempt status.

An organization that presents and supports multicultural dance, drum, and fitness programming in the Central New York Community.

Then In Fall 2008, they find a former auto body shop been vacant where there was “no life” more than 15 years. Such as no electricity, no water, paint and car oil were in floor and smelled everywhere inside at the Westcott area (called "Westcott Nation")

Over the course of 11 months, Wacheva and the community rehabilitated the space into an incredibly vibrant, dynamic, urban dance and culture space.

All the work has been done by volunteers from the community

which have made this place so Special. This voluntary based construction of the space in turn helped build Wacheva’s ownership by community members.

With support received by:

Initial grants used for rehabilitation of the studio:

In 2008 and 2009, Wacheva’s received funding from Syracuse University $20000 Labor fees

The CNY Community Foundation $10000, floor purchase fees

The Gifford Foundation $12000, floor purchase fees

CRC and HSA-Tap $3000. Mirrors fees

Families’ friends and neighbors $25000 Labor fees

In 2010, Wacheva received funding from the Community Foundation in the amount of $3000 to purchase a sign-in/data collection system for the front desk.

For 11 years, it was a place where other teachers from different cultures came to share their talents with the community. From young and old alike meet under the same roof.

As the theme of his conference demonstration, he always spoke of his personal / cultural past. "Why Wacheva was founded and how it contributes to the diversity of the community and also to the drum and dance stories"

But, unfortunately due to lack of financial means to take care of the space for the good of the central New York Community, they lost the space in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Currently Biboti teaches in schools and some class recommendations