Hands On Skin – Chris Diallo

Teaching and performing African music and dance since 2002. Based in Brighton, Chris performs and teaches regular classes in djembe and dance in Sussex. she has worked at camps & festivals, schools & clubs, one-to-one and with large groups. Everyone has the capacity to learn or enjoy what she can bring and workshops and events can be aimed at a variety of levels of understanding or ability.



Trade in drums and other musical instruments and although not a registered fair trade company as yet I try to behave as ethically as possible with the craftspeople I trade with and pay a ‘fair’ price for quality work. Links with 'Cassa Wassolo' in Abene, Senegal and also with a number of Guinean craftsmen working in The Gambia making drums & percussion. If I haven't got what you want I can probably find it for you.

About Chris Diallo

Chris was born in Stoke-On-Trent and although she has always loved singing and had a brief and disastrous relationship with the violin in childhood she came to music later in life. Having worked at the WOMAD world music festival for years and seen English people playing African drums she finally went to a class with a friend and was hooked.

She’s been playing a long time now, initially working with teachers in England. Drumbreaks (a style developed by Peter Scott) teachers such as Liz Carter, Ruth Jennie and Chris Garland were important in her early development, as was Simon Mc Carthy and she then went on to work with teachers of a more traditional West African style such as Fern Camera, Bucarr Ndow, Ali Bangora and Henri Gao Bi.

She took her first trip out to the Gambia to work with Masta Canon with Jambass music in 2001 and then went back regularly to study, at least once a year for three weeks. In Gambia she has worked extensively with Masta Abdoulai Keita but has had other teachers in djembe, balafon, dance, bolon, gongo and singing; largely Guineans but Gambians & Sierra Leonians also. She has been a student of Sekou Soumah, a master balafonist from Guinea, since 2004 and is also his manager. When in Gambia she mostly plays with the group Bafila but plays & dances with other troupes as well . She lived in the Gambia for a while and is now mostly based in England. She has also travelled and studied in Guinea & Senegal, most recently with the group Wassolo, Morly Toures' troupe of Guineans based in Abene. Known as ' Mama Wassolo' she is now manager & contact for this group & hopes to continue what has been an utterly fantastic working relationship with them for a very long time. She is planning a trip to Abene, Senegal for students of African music to work with Wassolo later this year. She is happy to give details and info re W African teachers, places to stay etc... just email for information.

As well as learning djembe and bass from Masta, Chris learned dance informally from a variety of sources with artistes in the Gambia; Babuccar, from Roots Manding and Pearr from Roots Kuntakinte being particularly helpful, as has Isotou bobo of the troupe Batafon. She learned gongo, initially from Oury Diallo. She played djembe as a ‘guest’ member of African Ballet for 4 months and has also played in one of Oury’s small ensembles in restaurants and bars for a while in 2003/4.

In England Chris is an original member of the Djembe Divas, a women’s’ drumming group based in Brighton. She teaches regular drum and dance classes and workshops and performs in Brighton and elsewhere.