Byb Chanel Bibene

Bibene is a dance educator, choreographer, and performer. He excels in theater, ethnic, African urban, and contemporary dance forms. His own technical and aesthetic sensibility is rooted in the culture and dances of his country of origin, the Republic of Congo. Award winner, Bibene has toured the world and performed internationally with companies originating from Africa, Europe, and the USA. Bibene has had the honor to work with choreographers such as Orchy Nzaba, Salia Sanou, Reggie Wilson, Johanna Haigood, Amara Tabor Smith, Paco Gomes, Paco Decina. Artistic Director of Kiandanda Dance Theater, Bibene initiated the Mbongui Square festival, a multidisciplinary arts festival that gathers dance, music, spoken word, and visual artists from the Bay Area and across the world. A two-time Izzies-Isadora Duncan Dance Awards nominee, Bibene has won 3rd place at the African Choreographic Contest and the Radio France International Dance Award, as well as recipient of grants from the Zellerbach Family Foundation, Cash Grant, City of Oakland, the Furthur Foundation, the San Francisco Arts Commission… Outside of his professional careers of Theater and Dance, Bibene has a passion for writing. He is author of numerous poetry and shorts, and winner of numerous poetry prizes. Bibene owns a Bachelor in Science and an MFA in Dance. Currently, he teaches at UC Berkeley.