Muisi-kongo Malonga

Muisi-kongo Malonga is a dancer and culture bearer whose arts practice is steeped in a staunch Bay Area legacy of cultural preservation, social justice, and service through art. She is one of the foremost keepers of Congolese dance traditions in the U.S., and is dedicated to preserving culture and cultivating the healing power of African arts traditions. As Artistic Director of Fua Dia Congo, Muisi-kongo continues the pioneering cultural preservation work begun in 1977 by her parents, Malonga Casquelourd (Founder/Director) and Dr. Faye McNair-Knox (Dancer/Founding Member). As founder of grassroots arts presenting organization BottleTree Culture, she seeks to reanimate the presence of African cultural arts as healer and change agent in her native East Palo Alto, CA. While she is passionate about serving in the above roles, at her core, Muisi-kongo is a gifted dancemaker who aims to transmit the sacred, translate the ancient and create works that are anchored in tradition. She has received numerous awards and professional honors including a 2017-18 Emerging Arts Professional Fellowship, 2022 Dance/USA Artist Fellowship and several posts as Guest Lecturer in Stanford University’s Theater and Performance Studies Department (Dance Division).