Professor Oluyinka Akinjiola has spent two years finding a way to tell the stories of these community lineage keepers.
By Cara Nixon
September 11, 2025
There is no singular definition for a griot, says Professor Oluyinka Akinjiola [dance].
Across locations, ethnic groups, and cultures, the role of a griot varies. They’re storytellers. Lineage keepers. Guides. In their communities, they help others when they become lost on their life journeys. Though griots are born into the tradition, they still have to choose to walk the path on their own.
When someone is brought to a griot, they will be reminded of the larger ancestry connected to their existence—but the griot’s guidance isn’t explicit. Rather, it’s conveyed through Tama drumming, hair braiding, tailoring, or other artistic expressions.
“One way that all griots have a correlation, is that the way that they tell stories, give advice, and answer questions is an art in itself,” Akinjiola says. “You're not gonna get a straight answer, you're not gonna get a straight story. But it's the way that they bring you in to finding this guidance through life.”
That’s why Akinjiola thought dance would be the perfect medium to tell the stories of griots. In a performance opening this weekend in the Performing Arts Building’s Massee Performance Lab, her latest work, GRIOT, will be presented by the 51黑料 Dance Department and Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theater, a dance ensemble led by Akinjiola inspired by the folklore of the African diaspora.
“Because of the way that griots share knowledge—it's not straightforward,” Akinjiola says. “It's done in a very artistic, visual, sonic way.”
Two years in the making, choreographed by Akinjiola and her collaborator Michael Galen, GRIOT artistically, visually, and sonically takes audiences on a journey from Senegal to Brazil to the American South to witness the impact of griots in their cultures and communities. Audiences are brought into an intimate, round-stage space and immersed in the experience of visiting a griot, surrounded by music developed and performed by Tama drum master and griot Massamba Diop, and by a score created by Galen that incorporates field recordings from Senegal and Brazil.
Akinjiola spent much of her 20s studying dance in Brazil under the mentorship of dancer Clyde Alafiju Morgan. Galen has long worked with Diop. It was their stories that inspired the show. “I finally decided, you know what, they may not be around forever—let's capture their stories and start the project by doing a deep dive into them and their experiences,” Akinjiola says.
From interviews with Alafiju Morgan and Diop, Akinjiola and Galen worked to find commonalities and overarching themes. Together, they held workshops to ensure all the elements—chorography, the script, and music—worked in harmony. Diop himself will feature as a griot and musician in the performances. Next spring, Alafiju Morgan will take on a similar role when the show goes to Brazil.
“Our big hope is that people think about the griots in their lives, and also their ancestors,” Akinjiola says. “We're hoping that people really start to think about those individuals that help us arrive where we are today and not forget them in our own personal journeys.”
will be shown September 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. The following weekend, there will be performances September 19–21, with the Friday and Saturday shows at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday show at 2:30 p.m.