In Senegal, a Dance School Where ‘Everything Is Alive’ (opens in new tab)

The main studio of the École des Sables, a school near Dakar, Senegal, defies every convention relating to what a professional dance space should be. It has no sprung floor, no mirrored walls. Actually, there are no walls at all. The dancers work under a tented canopy, which provides shade from the sun without enclosing the space, and the floor is sand. The sand studio was part of the nature-oriented vision of Germaine Acogny, 81, the school’s commanding founder. Take a look inside the villag...