Tara Murphy

Tara Murphy teaches beginning West African Dance on Zoom, with great recorded African music, contemporary and traditional. This dance will get your blood pumping and your heart soaring....feel the rhythms and shake what you got! Participants will learn the basic style of West African dance as well as traditional dances from Mali, Guinea and Senegal, West Africa. The class emphasizes community, self-expression and the joy of movement. We will let our spirits fly! Wear comfortable movement clothes; women often wear sarongs. Please drink water throughout class.

Tara Murphy is originally from Washington, D.C. and grew up studying ballet and theater. She earned her B.A. in theater and religious studies at Yale University. At this time she also began studying African dance and drumming, and exploring her African heritage. While at Yale, Tara was awarded a fellowship to study traditional dance and drumming at the University of Legon in Ghana, West Africa. For the past 20 years, she has studied closely under many African and Afro-Caribbean artists in Washington, D.C., New York City and Boston. Tara recognizes the practice of African dance and drumming as a tremendous force for healing, meditation, empowerment and community. It is her greatest honor to share the inspiration of these ancient traditions.