Mr. Vado Diomande, a childhood dancer, from the tender age of 4, known widely for his frenetic pace of “Mask Dance” has suffered a setback to his health
Mr. Vado Diomande, a childhood dancer, from the tender age of 4, known widely for his frenetic pace of “Mask Dance” has suffered a setback to his health. No, this was not an accidental fall from the stilts, as it was thought to be.
On Thursday, Mr Diomande collapsed soon after a performance, the reason, it is believed is due to inhalation of anthrax spores. This might have occurred after stretching the animal skins on drums for the purpose of tuning them.Mr. Diomande was reported to be in a stable condition, though he was unavailable for interviews. This is the performer’s second bout of anthrax, after the near fatal accident in 2003. Despite his tryst with anthrax, he has still worked with animal skins, undeterred, and has continued to travel to Ivory Coast to look for animal skins. Vado Diomande, extremely alive and vibrant on stage is otherwise a very private person.
Marcus Robinson, artistic director of the Florida African Drum and Dance Festival in Tallahassee, explained how drums from other African drummers were sent to Mr. Diomande for tuning, knowing his expertise in this field. "They had to be pulled to a certain pitch," Mr. Robinson said. "He's particularly good at that, in terms of knowing the proper pitch, specifically for Ivory Coast percussionists."
