Tamsier Joof Aviance or Tamsier Aviance (né Tamsier Joof — 17 May 1973,"Senegambian taking the dance world by storm", ''West Africa'', 5 June 1995, p. 4.''The Comet'' newspaper (Stevenage) interview : "This is it", 23 August 2001, p. 21. former

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

: Tam Jo) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

dancer, choreographer, actor, model, entrepreneur, radio presenter, and author. He took the name ''"Aviance"'' after joining the House of Aviance — one of the legendary

vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

- ball houses in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. As well as appearing in several

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

, and as stage backing dancer for

Mary Kiani Mary Kiani (born Mary McKloskey on 27 March 1964), usually spelled Märy Kiani on her records, is a Scottish singer who first had hit songs as vocalist for dance music act the Time Frequency (TTF) in the early 1990s and later a solo career. Bef ...

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singe ...

and

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, London Metro : Review of "Consecrated Love" (and interview of choreographers) - 7 August 1999, p. 57.The cast, Flymonkey Productions : "The Wiz" (2000 & 2001) at

Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as ‘the most beautiful theatre in Lon ...

Review of this show can be found
in the ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', 11 May 2001. he was also known within the London voguing scene during the 1990s and is among the original London vogue dancers of that era.''The Face'', July Issue, 1991, p. 10. ''Bizarre'', April 1997, p. 15.

Early life and education

Tamsier was born in North West

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(

Kensal Rise Kensal Green is an area in north-west London. It lies mainly in the London Borough of Brent, with a small part to the south within Kensington and Chelsea. Kensal Green is located on the Harrow Road, about miles from Charing Cross. To the w ...

) into a

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

ese- Gambian family. His late father was a Gambian

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

,William Dixon Colley, "Champion of free speech (Tribute)", ''The Nation'' (Gambia), 7 June 1993. and his mother a business woman. Tamsier left the UK when he was two years old after his father decided to move his family back to the Gambia and establish his

chambers Chambers may refer to: Places Canada: *Chambers Township, Ontario United States: *Chambers County, Alabama * Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County * Chambers, Nebraska * Chambers, West Virginia * Chambers Township, Hol ...

there. He returned to the UK couple of years later to pursue his education. In an interview with ''West Africa'' magazine, Tamsier said: Tamsier studied

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), its ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, tap and

labanotation Labanotation (the grammatically correct form "Labannotation" or "Laban notation" is uncommon) is a system for analyzing and recording human movement. The inventor was Rudolf von Laban (1879-1958), a central figure in European modern dance, who d ...

. He attended

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries ...

, the

University of Wolverhampton The University of Wolverhampton is a public university located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire in England. The roots of the university lie in the Wolverhampton Tradesmen's and Mech ...

and the

London Studio Centre The London Studio Centre, in North Finchley, London, is a British dance and theatre school providing courses in classical ballet, contemporary dance, jazz dance, and musical theatre. It is accredited by the CDMT, Council for Dance, Drama and Mus ...

and holds an

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

and

Finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

Honours Degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...

, a PGCE and a Performing Arts Dance Degree. As of 2006, he was a non-active qualified teacher and an Associate of the

Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) is an international dance teaching and examination board based in London, England. The registered educational charity, which was established on 25 July 1904 as the ''Imperial Society of Dance Te ...

and the

International Dance Teachers Association The International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA) is a dance teaching and examination board based in Brighton, England. Operating internationally, the IDTA currently has over 7,000 members in 55 countries. The IDTA is recognised by the nationa ...

. Tamsier also took additional classes at London's

Pineapple Dance Studios Pineapple Dance Studios' is a dance studio complex, performing arts school, and associated dancewear, clothing, and eyewear brand, based in London, England. Origin Pineapple Studios was founded by former model Debbie Moore, who had started danc ...

and Danceworks in various dance styles such as breaking; commercial jazz with the late Nicky Bentley (one of the earlier dance teachers at Pineapple Dance Studios) and with choreographer Shanie, whom he describes as influencing his commercial funk and jazz style. He also studied

popping Popping is a street dance adapted out of the earlier Boogaloo (funk dance) cultural movement in Oakland, California. As Boogaloo spread, it would be referred to as Robottin in Richmond, California, Strutting movements in San Francisco and San ...

and street locking with Jimmy Williams - one of the early UK street lockers, and attended workshops with internationally renowned guest choreographers like Bryant Baldwin (USA) and Mauro Mosconi (Italy).

Career

Dance and choreography

Tamsier worked as a stage backing dancer for

Kym Mazelle Kym Mazelle (born Kymberly Grigsby; August 10, 1960) is an American singer. She is regarded as a pioneer of house music in the United Kingdom and Europe. Her music combines R&B, soul, funk, house music, dance, and pop. She is credited as " Th ...

Jocelyn Brown Jocelyn Lorette Brown (born November 25, 1950), sometimes credited as Jocelyn Shaw, is an American R&B and dance singer. Although she has only one ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart entry solely in her name, she has an extensive background in the musi ...

Martha Wash Martha Elaine Wash (born December 28, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco si ...

MN8 MN8 were a British R&B- pop group. They consisted of KG (co-founder, lead vocals), G-Man (co-founder, lead vocals), Kule T (lead vocals) and Dee Tails (rapper, backing vocalist, stylist and choreographer). Career MN8's 1995 debut hit singl ...

Honeyz The Honeyz are a British R&B girl group, composed of members Celena Cherry and Mariama Goodman. The group had five UK top 10 hits between 1998 and 2000, with "Finally Found" (1998), " End of the Line" (1998), " Love of a Lifetime" (1999), "Ne ...

, Impact Dance Productions (UK,

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...

) and also appeared on

's 1995 World Tour at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

(London leg of the tour, small portion). Some of his musical theatre work include

Starlight Express ''Starlight Express'' is a 1984 British musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern engines in the hope of ...

, Fame,

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

Hot Mikado : ''Hot Mikado'' is a musical comedy, based on Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera '' The Mikado'', adapted by David H. Bell (book and lyrics) and Rob Bowman (orchestrations and arrangements). After researching the 1939 Broadway musical, ' ...

and

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown (writer), William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's childr ...

. Choreographic work include ''"Consecrated Love"'' for the Yozo Fass Dance Theatre Company, which he co-choreographed and performed in; ''"Dance Fusion"'' for the Choreographer's Ball (London); and ''"Our Town Story"'' for

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

(

London Borough of Hackney London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) with Ujamaa Arts, supported by

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

for the year 2000

Millennium Dome Show The Millennium Dome Show was a multimedia theatrical performance created to commemorate the year 2000 in the Millennium Dome in London, England. The show was directed by Pixar executive Pete Docter, who wrote the show alongside English musician ...

. Along with his experience in mainstream dance genres such as

and ballet, Tamsier was also involved in the underground London

scene during the late 1980s or early 1990s. By the early to late 1990s, Tamsier was one of the most recognisable New way voguers within the London underground scene and worked extensively in several London clubs as a podium dancer / voguer including

Heaven Nightclub Heaven is a superclub in Charing Cross, London, England. It has a long association with London's LGBT scene and is home to long-running gay night G-A-Y. The club is known for Paul Oakenfold's acid house events in the 1980s, the underground n ...

, Equinox, The Tube, Lowdown,

Trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

, Vox and Busby's. It was whilst working as a dancer in the early 1990s at Heaven that Tamsier met the legendary Jean Michel who will become one of his closest friends and vogue mentor. The two regularly frequented the London club scene giving performances and engaging in vogue battles with other London voguers. In 1997 whilst working for Heaven Nightclub's host and performer — Miss Kimberley as a backing voguer, Tamsier was interviewed and photographed by the alternative culture magazine Bizarre. Tamsier's "interesting look and voguing talent" made him a prime candidate for an interview. Tamsier credited his old friend and mentor Jean Michel for teaching him the elements of vogue and for mentoring him, as well as watching legendary

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

voguers like

Willi Ninja William Roscoe Leake (April 12, 1961 – September 2, 2006), better known as Willi Ninja, was an American dancer and choreographer best known for his appearance in the documentary film ''Paris Is Burning (film), Paris Is Burning''.Juan Battle ...

and Hector Xtravaganza. As a regular user of Pineapple Dance Studios in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

and Danceworks in

Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

, Tamsier encouraged his mentor to run vogue classes in these studios. When Jean Michel was finally given a spot at Danceworks, Tamsier helped spread the word among his dancer friends "some of whom have had no exposure to real voguing other than what they've seen on

Madonna's Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

1990 Vogue video." Tamsier regularly attended the class and supported his mentor.

Teaching

Tamsier was a dance teacher and

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

, teaching jazz, ballet and contemporary. He taught at Carol Straker Dance School in London, Wood Green High School College of Sports, the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

and the

London Guildhall University London Guildhall University was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002, established when the City of London Polytechnic was awarded university status. On 1 August 2002, it merged with the University of North London to form Londo ...

.The Casting Collective artist biography : "Tamsier Joof" (2000—2003) Tamsier ran workshops in various inner city schools in London and the Midlands. He was a dance coach/consultant for

Sandwell Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. According to Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, t ...

and Dudley Borough Council in partnership with the region's development agency (

Advantage West Midlands Advantage West Midlands was established in 1999 as one of nine regional development agencies (RDAs) in England. RDAs were created by the UK Government to drive sustainable economic development and social and physical regeneration through a bus ...

) and ran dance workshops throughout the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and also taught the

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) was a charity, and an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department for Education. In England and Northern Ireland, the QCDA maintained and developed the National Cu ...

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

and

A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

dance

syllabi A syllabus (; plural ''syllabuses'' or ''syllabi'') or specification is a document that communicates information about an academic course or class and defines expectations and responsibilities. It is generally an overview or summary of the curric ...

at various schools in the region including the A-level

syllabus.''Advantage West Midlands Newsletter'', May 2004, p. 17. He also taught advance/professional jazz at various dance studios including Adage Dance Studios in

Harborne Harborne is an area of south-west Birmingham, England. It is one of the most affluent areas of the Midlands, southwest from Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in ...

(

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Retirement and comeback

Tamsier retired from professional dancing (on-and-off) in 2001 to pursue other business ventures, taking only non-lengthy dance contracts or teaching. In March 2015, Tamsier came out of retirement to appear on

FKA twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 17 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, and dancer. Born and raised in Cheltenham, she became a backup dancer for numerous famous musicians aft ...

music video "Glass & Patron" as a vogue dancer starring alongside

Javier Ninja Javier Ninja (birth name Javier Madrid,Dance Magazine - interview of "Javier Ninja" by Margaret Fuhre- retrieved 30 March 2015 born 10 March 1984 in QueensJavier Ninja's workshop and bio in Arkstar (December 3, 2010 retrieved March 31, 2015 (New ...

, David Magnifique and Benjamin Milan."FKA twigs - Glass & Patron (Official Music Video YTMAs)"
YouTube. Tamsier credited as a dancer. The video was officially released on FKA twigs

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel on Monday, 23 March 2015.

Acting and modelling

Tamsier did some

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

and modelling during his career working with

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

s like Michel Wallace (the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

choreographer and artistic director of the Yozo Fass Dance Theatre Company) and Paa C Quaye (the

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian actor—director and artistic director of Ujamaa Arts). Tamsier appeared as background actor in the 2002 drama '' Dirty Pretty Things''; and in the 2003 comedy ''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television proje ...

''. He was also a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, television and theatre costume model for Academy Costumes, and one of his major modelling jobs was modelling the costumes of the

Tomb Raider 2 ''Tomb Raider II'' is a 1997 action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was first released on Windows and PlayStation. Later releases came for Mac OS (1998), iOS (2014) and Android (2015). It i ...

film directed by

Jan de Bont Jan de Bont (; born 22 October 1943) is a Dutch cinematographer, director and film producer. He is best known for directing the films ''Speed'' (1994) and ''Twister'' (1996). As a director of photography, de Bont also worked on numerous blockbus ...

and starring

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

Entrepreneur and radio broadcasting

Tamsier was a former

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

of Bluewings Employment Security & Training Limited and Blue Light Training Services Limited both of which he resigned from"About Us"
Seereer Resource Centre's website, an
"The Team"
retrieved 29 March 2015. and now runs his own businesses. He is an

investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some specie ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n businesses seeking start-up or expansion capital through

MYC4 MYC4 A/S was a company that allowed its users to invest microcredits via an internet-platform in medium and small businesses in developing countries in Africa. On December 7, 2016, the MYC4 Foundation informed its investors it has decided to ceas ...

. Tamsier was also the founder of the Seereer Resource Centre (SRC), an organisation he conceived in 2008. The SRC preserves and promotes Seereer culture. Tamsier is a member of that ethic group. He is co-author of ''Learn to speak Saafi-Saafi: The complete language course'' and author of the ''Learn to speak the Seereer languages'' syllabus. Tamsier is also the founder of Seereer Radio which broadcast 24/7 for the Serer and Senegambian community. Tamsier is a presenter on Seereer Radio and is the main anchor on the ''Cosaan Seereer Show'', a weekly cultural program which he co-hosts with Demba Sene, Mamadou Fall, Moussoukoro Sidibé and new host Laity Sene. He is also a regular on the ''Open Mike Show'' presented by Mamadou Fall. Tamsier is a strong opponent of President

Yahya Jammeh Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former military officer who was the leader of The Gambia from 1994 to 2017, firstly as chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) from 199 ...

's regime and regularly speaks out against the brutality of the Jammeh regime on Seereer Radio, and occasionally on Gainako Radio. Tamsier regularly visits the Gambia to report on the country's political situation for Seereer Radio. He covered the trial of lawyer

Ousainou Darboe Ousainou Darboe (born 8 August 1948) is a Gambian politician and lawyer who serves as the National Assembly Minority Leader since April 2022. He previously served as Vice-President of the Gambia and Minister of Women's Affairs from June 2018 to ...

and his Executive Committee, 9 May 2016 political prisoners - imprisoned for demanding electrical reform and the

Gambian presidential election, 2016 Presidential elections were held in The Gambia on 1 December 2016. In a surprise result, opposition candidate Adama Barrow defeated long-term incumbent Yahya Jammeh. The election marked the first change of presidency in The Gambia since a milit ...

.Seereer Radio : Open Mike Specials Gambian Elections 2016 - broadcast on 29 and 30 November 2016; 1st, 2, 5 and 7 December 2016. Presented by Mamadou Fall and Tamsier Joo

/ref> He is one of few (if not the only) Gambian radio presenters living in the diaspora that regularly criticises the Jammeh regime yet continues to enter the country. Whilst he was still in the Gambia covering the 2016 presidential election and the release of Ousainou Darboe from jail, he continued to criticise the brutality of the Jammeh regime as he has done on previous visits. When asked by his colleagues whether he fears for his life being so candid about his criticism of the Jammeh regime, he replied "I may not be born here but my grandparents were born here and have fought and died for this country. If I do not have more stake in this country than Jammeh, then Jammeh certainly does not have more stake in this country than me." On the same topic, Tamsier had said on the ''Open Mike'' and ''Cosaan Seereer'' shows that "a real Serer people, Serer does not fear death." He is also known for carrying out investigative journalism against the Jammeh regime and his enablers and outing them on the radio. He is one of few radio critics of Jammeh to have interviewed President-Elect

Adama Barrow Adama Barrow ( ff, 𞤀𞥄𞤣𞤢𞤥𞤢 𞤄𞤢𞥄𞤪𞤮, Aadama Baaro, born 15 February 1965) is a Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of the Gambia since 2017. Born in Mankamang Kunda, a village ...

face-to-face on Gambian soil during the Jammeh regime (done at least twice). The first being Barrow's election campaign in

Bakau Bakau is a town on the Atlantic coast of Gambia, west of Gambia's capital city of Banjul. It is known for its botanical gardens, its crocodile pool ''Bakau Kachikally'' and for the beaches at Cape Point. Bakau is the first major suburb outside ...

on 29 November 2016, and after his victory in the 2016 presidential election - face-to-face interview at the Kairaba Hotel on 7 December 2016.

Personal life and controversy

Although Tamsier was brought up in a Muslim household, he rejected Islam in his early life and became a devout follower of A ƭat Roog (the Seereer religious faith, religion of his ancestors).''Open Mike : Prejudice against Seereer religion (A ƭat Roog) and other Traditional African religions in Senegambia and other parts of Africa'' (Wednesday, 8 February 2017

/ref> In his ''Open Mike'' broadcast titled: ''Prejudice against Seereer religion (A ƭat Roog) and other Traditional African religions in Senegambia and other parts of Africa'' (Wednesday, 8 February 2017), Tamsier criticised some quarters of the Senegambia Confederation, Senegambian and

n Muslim and Christian communities by referring to them as "hypocrites who like to demonise the traditional religions of their forefathers—yet when their prayers are not answered by their foreign Gods, they revert to the religions of their ancestors through Traditional African religious seers/

diviners Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history ...

—seeking answers or solutions to their problems." Tamsier went on to state that: "One cannot love Senegambian history and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

African history The history of Africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans and — around 300–250,000 years ago—anatomically modern humans (''Homo sapiens''), in East Africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of dive ...

and

for that matter yet despise Traditional African religion, because African history and culture are deeply rooted in the Traditional African religions." Tamsier is also known for criticising the powerful

Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal This is a list of Sufi orders (Tariqas) in Senegal (and also the Gambia). They are active Muslim organizations that can also be found in many other parts of Africa and the Islamic world. Their members are mainly Wolofs, Fulas and Tocouleurs. ...

and their families for their "greed", "selfishness", and meddling in Senegalese politics; the Mauritanian government for failing to eradicate slavery in

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

and the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

and

ECOWAS The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

for their failure to intervene and eradicate this "ghastly practice" in Mauritania. He is also quite vocal in criticising the Senegalese Muslim Marabout schools' (''daraa'') "abuse of children" ('' talibés '') sent to their Quranic schools for learning, through the use of "physical abuse", "starvation", "cruely", and being sent to beg on the streets of Senegal.''Open Mike : Presented by Moussoukoro Sidibé (Tuesday, 4th October 2016)'

/ref>

External links

*Lamin Faye
"Interview with Tamsier Joof"
Seereer Resource Centre, 28 March 2015, retrieved 6 April 2015 *
Tamsier
at the Internet Music Video Database (IMVDb) *The Seereer Resource Centre and Seereer Radio joint podcast
Listen to shows presented by Joof

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aviance, Tamsier Joof Living people 1973 births Serer dancers English choreographers Serer choreographers Black British male actors Serer writers Serer male actors House of Aviance British male models English people of Senegalese descent English people of Gambian descent People from Kensal Green People from Paddington English male dancers English male actors 20th-century British dancers 20th-century English male actors Former Muslim critics of Islam Critics of Christianity Gambian pan-Africanists Senegalese pan-Africanists Joof family

Early life and education

Career

Dance and choreography

Teaching

Retirement and comeback

Acting and modelling

Entrepreneur and radio broadcasting

Personal life and controversy

See also

External links

References