Fatou (Fama) Niang
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Photo: Baidy Ba
"Every effort, small or big, will always be worth it in the end."
Photo: Ousmane Thiam
Music: "Gindima" by Aida Samb
LIGUEYE
(WORK)
“The first time I went to meet my mother, I wanted to tell her I miss her. She pushed me, with an incredible force to the ground, and gazed at me with a look of fear and said “I am not your mother, go find your mother! “
Photo: Baidy Ba
Fatou (Fama) Niang S.C.A.R.S. Story
"No one was born an orphan and no one chose their parents
The first time I went to see my mother to tell her I miss her
She pushed me with an incredible force to the ground
With a look of fear, telling me
“I am not your mother go get your mother!”
Words that left a deep pain in my heart
Those turned into wounds and injuries that left scars in my heart
I didn't choose to be born under these conditions
I did not choose to have a mother and a father who didn’t want their child
I did not choose to be the one I am before their eyes
All I wanted is to live and have the love that a child needs from their parents
But we live to learn how to heal ourselves and take care of ourselves
But never forget,
Because while each painful experience always leaves a scar,
My scar is my strength."
Fatou Niang is 19 years old and lives in Kaolack, Senegal, where she was a student at Vadiodio Ndiaye high school. She started dancing at the age of 12 and is a member of several groups: she was first a member of the "Real boys" for 3 years then the "Black Masters" for 2 years.
In 2019, Fama joined the group "G15" as well as the "Mbosse Dance Company" of Baïdy Ba. This year, in 2020, she completed two training courses at the Alliance Française de Kaolack: 1) Baïdy Ba: "Teaching Dance" and 2) Pope Ibrahima Ndiaye: “The Vocabulary of Contemporary Dance". Fatou’s first performance was with “Real Boys” in 2013. She also performed with "Black Masters" for several cultural events that took place in Vadiodio Ndiaye and Bassirou Mbacke high schools.
In 2019, with the group G15 she participated in several shows with the group G15, notably with Samba Peuzzi, in the heart of Kaolack city. She also choreographed and presented two pieces: A tribute to Binta Sarr at the French Alliance of Kaolack and another was a tribute to women’s day in the Thioffack region.
The ordeal that I lived has made me aware of my choices in life. Every time I think about it, it gives me the strength to fight more and to make decisions to make sure my children will not live what I endured in my childhood. When I think of my S.C.A.R. it gives me joy, strength, courage and faith. I know that it has made me the woman I am today, and it was continues to inspire my artistry and dancing.