Like air and water, dance is an indispensible part of Senegalese, whose talented dances are always amazing and admirable. In cities or rural areas, on the occasions of wedding or funeral, people will express their feelings with dance, and often overnight without exhaustion. As a key identity of Senegalese people, dance is regarded as an inseparable part of their cultural heritage; among them Germaine Acogny, reputed as “mother of African modern dance”, is the most representative dancer and the most shining star.

Schooling is one of the best ways to promote and develop black African dancing art. In this view, Germaine Acogny established International Center of African Traditional and Modern Dance. This center is also nicked as Sand School, for it's located in the beach where white sand is all around and constitutes a beautiful scene.

Its objective is to promote development of African traditional and modern dance through related events and projects. With integration of teaching theory and making practice, this center is not only a studio for creation and research, but also a salon for artists gathering and exchange. In their opinion, as an important part of cultural, social and economic development of African continent, dance needs promotion in a considerable degree.

If you want to see the best achievement of Sand School, you will be recommended to watch the performance of Sun Dance Company, which is a sister organization parallel to and in cooperation with the school. This company provides opportunities for students to practise stage performance and especially for those outstanding talents to choreograph or rehearse dance for future employment.

For dance circles and amateurs in China, it is really astonishing to appreciate Senegalese Incense in the Annual Theme Performance “Dance in Shanghai” of Shanghai International Dance Festival in 2006. This solo is just the masterpiece by Germaine Acogny, a prestigious dancer, choreographer and dance educationist in Senegal and even Africa, who was then over 60 years old. Her heart-thrilling posture and exquisite performance took the whole audience by storm and left unforgettable impression in their mind.

This senior dancer is also an old friend of Chinese people. In talks, when we mentioned her journeys to China, she would passionately sign, “China is my home town where I feel at home. It is hard to phrase that kind of familiarity and fraternity. In particular, my Taiji boxing practice with Beijing citizen in the early morning is eternal memory in my mind.” Then she added in her humor, “Perhaps I was also a Chinese in my previous life”.

“I look forward to visiting my second home town in love—China.” she said always. It is now reported that Germaine Acogny will possibly head her company to tour in China a second time to honor her promise.