Yameci Dance Company
Valerie Gnassounou is the founder and Artistic Director of the Yameci Dance Company. She received her M.A. from the University of Paris XII. She hails from worldly places starting from France through the West Coast of Africa, Caribbean and England where she trained in various dance styles. In Northern California, she danced and collaborated with many dance companies: Jazzee, Sacramento - Black art of dance, Celebration Arts, New Dance CIE just to name a few. She has choreographed many dance concerts, musicals and theater projects. Her work has been seen on Access Sacramento; she has received many awards such as the Elly Award, Willie Award for Best Choreography in 2006 for Urinetown and South Pacific. Ms. Gnassounou is a strong advocate for dance and performing arts. As the chair of the dance department and professor at San Joaquin Delta College, she promotes the arts throughout the community by collaborating with local artists, teaching workshops and presenting dance productions.
