DANCE WORKSHOPS
Since his arrival in the UK he has been in high demand, both as a performer and a teacher and has created a wide net of artistic connections with African artists of the diaspora. He has worked for a number of companies, including Irineu Nogueira’s Afro-Brazilian Dance Company ABEIE with whom he has toured extensively across Europe and the Caribbean. For over a decade, Dembis has served as Irineu’s lead UK drummer. He has been a core member of Senegalese community AIDANCE Company and acclaimed OFELIA BALOGUN (DANCE YOUR ROOTS), and he has freelanced for many others including recent collaborations with legendary & internationally recognized artists such as ROSANGELA SILVESTRE (Symbology of Orixás + Silvestre Technique Dance Masterclass), EVENS CLERCEMA (Afro-Haitian and Afro-Contemporary dances), KARINE LABEL ( “Yanvalou” Traditional Afro-Haitian Dance).
PERFORMANCE:
AFRICAN GRIOT + BAYEFALL DRUM BLESSING SOLO ACT
Since 2023 Dembis has been offering the DEMBIS THIOUNG: African Griot + Bayefall Drum Blessing act, an opening & closing drum ceremony where the audience embark on a rhythmic journey traveling across West Africa. As the master of his drums, he invites us all to experience the power of unity through sacred West African rhythms and shares wisdom from his Senegalese Bayefall & Griot oral traditions and personal experiences. His first performance of this solo act was the closing chapter of the ANCESTRAL FUTURE series hosted by Shumba Masai at the SOHO HOUSE representing Senegal. He also blessed the first of the monthly series of the PECKHAM LEVELS LIVE sessions organized by the LITTLE BAOBAB, opened at CAFE OTO, brought the powers to the magical FOLKLORE HOXTON and recently he has opened the Afro-Colombian Bullerengue AKOLA TAMBO at both JAMBOREE and DALSTON CURVE GARDENS.
PERFORMANCE:
ESTEBAN CARD BAND
ESTEBAN CARD is a sonic storyteller redefining Colombian folkloric music for a global stage. Rooted in the powerful traditions of Bullerengue and Gaita, his sound fuses ancestral chants, deep drumming and organic contemporary textures into a hypnotic soundscape. His music is deeply spiritual, channeling the sacred energy of ritual, memory and movement. Blending Colombia’s African and Indigenous heritage with the rhythms of West Africa, Esteban crafts a trance-inducing journey where the past and present dance together in harmony.
Collaborating closely with DEMBIS THIOUNG — Senegalese griot, master percussionist, and Bayefall spirit—Esteban explores how tradition becomes dialogue. In their work, Alegre meets Dundun, Bullerengue and Gaita meet Sabar and Manding, and the drum becomes a bridge between continents, cultures, and generations. This isn’t fusion—it's a connection. It’s remembering. It’s now.
His electrifying live sets have captivated audiences across the UK, with performances at Jamboree, Rich Mix, Wilderness Festival, Hootananny, Battersea Summer Festival, Juju’s Bar, Arts by the Sea Festival, and Lola MC, earning praise from influential tastemakers such as Gilles Peterson and Alex Wharton.
MUSIC PRODUCTION
Dembis is a versatile independent performing artist, known for his collaborations on album recordings, contributions to TV soundtracks, and performances in theatrical productions.
He has played live, and recorded albums with internationally acclaimed artists such as Baaba Maal and Carlou D, as well as collaborated with Film Composer Harry Escott recording the main soundtrack theme for the second season of the FOX TV Series “Deep Estate”. Dembis’s aptitude for music, means that his skills as a percussionist are not reserved for West African rhythms alone, and he is able to, and is keen on working with artists from all global musical backgrounds. Most recently, in July 2022, Dembis performed for the second sold out run of the acclaimed theatre play SAMSKARA written and directed by award winning artist Lanre Malaolu, hosted at the The Yard theatre in Hackney, a deeply moving and transformative play about the Black male experience in Britain. He has also collaborated with DRUMMER WARRIOR STORYTELLER, an immersive live theatre production celebrating the legacy of Black excellence emerging from the creative renaissance and movement Village 101 directed by Apex Zero. He has lately recorded the ancestral rhythms of the soundtrack of the Shepherd's Bush Theatre commissioned play MY FATHER’S FABLE, composed by brilliant cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson, a play written by Faith Omole with a cast including BAFTA winner Rakie Oyola.
