About Asadata

Austin Dafora Horton was born on August 4th 1890 in Sierra Leone. This was not his original given name, because his name was changed after his family members endured slavery. He lived until 1965. He came to New York in 1929 when he was 39.

He was better known as Asadata Dafora. He became a famous dancer, and used his background as an advantage. He was heavily influenced by Sierra Leone and proud to represent the rich culture of Sierra Leone. He was born into a prominent family and received a Wesleyan education in Freetown City, Sierra Leone. Dafora had a passion for African culture, so he set his mind to studying that. It was apparently by chance that he discover dance.

How he discovered he could dance is actually an interesting tale. When he was abroad in Germany he was home sick, so he started dancing. He was so good at dancing that people started to take notice.

Asadata later moved to America. Asadata Dafora tried to become a successful musician. This was difficult to do at the time, because it was during the Great Depression. He tried doing this from a new angle, but he began talking to the National African Union. The National African Union talked him back into dancing.

He started out in a company called Shogolo Oloba, which was later renamed the Federal Theatre African Dance Troupe.

In 1931 he completed one of his signature pieces called “Kykunkor” (The Witch Woman), which was based on African folklore. Even though it was completed in 1931, it was not opened until 1934 and was a massive success globally.

Other works that Dafora put together were “Ostrich Dance”, “Zunguru” (1940), and “Batanga” (1941). His drumming also appeared in Orson Welles’s all black Macbeth in 1936.

In 1960 he returned to Sierra Leone, and became the cultural director of the country.