Sidiki Conde was 14 years old when he lost the use of his legs to polio. In his home country of Guinea in West Africa, a physical disability like that can be thought to bring shame and bad luck to a community. Now at age 59, Conde lives in a fifth-floor walkup in the East Village.Conde’s path to happiness came to him through a dream, during which he saw himself singing and dancing. He took it as a sign, and through much hard work and persistence taught himself to dance on his hands. Doing so allowed him to participate in his culture’s coming-of-age ceremony, which reconnected him to his community.
He began traveling around Guinea performing before becoming something of an international sensation. He settled in New York City about two decades ago.
Recently, Conde was among 54 immigrant artists featured in the Center for Traditional Music and Dance’s Beat of the Boroughs initiative. He talked to us about his participation in the event, as well as the Covid-19 situation in his home country.

Epicenter NYC on Sidiki Conde: https://epicenter-nyc.com/dancing-on-our-hands/

New York Times on Sidiki Conde: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/05/nyregion/coronavirus-polio-Sidiki-Conde.html

Center for Traditional Music: https://ctmd.org/programs/touring-artists/sidiki-conde-and-tokounou/

 Epicenter NYC livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGtRrf-Gyr4&t=117s

Our intro music: http://karavikamusic.com/