Drumming for capoiera demo
At Garden Arts Fest 2013
!st Annual Myrtle Beach Jazz Festival
Playing at the American Dance Festival for dance classes
American Dance Festival Drummers
I had the pleasure of playing on Capitol Hill at a diplomatic reception
Drummers dance too! After class with Yalani Bangoura formerly with Ballet du Gunea
Giving a Lecture/demo during a school family night out with Bilal Nash
Sunya Folayan on her favorite drums.
I'm a performing/teaching artist and researcher with training in West African percussion, dance, and textile design. I founded both an intergenerational chamber music percussion ensemble and a community- and family-based percussion and dance group. I’ve had the honor of learning from some of the finest African artists in the world. A former therapist for many years, I speak about the power of drumming and dance in supporting mental health, building community, and fostering well-being. Whether delivering a program solo, sharing research on the African cultural presence in the Americas, or assembling a team from our ensemble, I aim to create a lively and uplifting program for any event.
37 reviews
Monique J.
January 6, 2026Kensie was excellent and his interaction with the guest made everything perfect. All of my guest was so entertained and excited over his performance, and I will book him again at my next big event!!💯👏🙏🏽🎉
Hired as: African Entertainment
Latasha J.
September 9, 2024The drummers were amazing. The whole party was moving the beats. I loved that they got the crowd involved and even made some humor with it. DEFINITELY an amazing performance.
Hired as: African Entertainment
Roddie M.
August 11, 2024I'm so happy we booked Chris Thompson to perform at our 3rd anniversary party. He is a great drummer and interacted with our guests so well. He had everyone engage into the performance. I will definitely contract to Sunya Folayan for future events.
Hired as: African Entertainment
Angela
July 9, 2024I booked Sunya Folayan for my family reunion. From our initial phone conversation to our last, Sunya was very professional, pleasant and easy to communicate with.
Kente, our entertainer for the evening, was awesome. He brought a great presence to the room, and his ability to engage the family and keep them entertained was on point. The family enjoyed him included the little ones. I highly recommend and will definitely book again.
Angela
Hired as: African Entertainment
Sunya Folayan
Angela,
It was absolutely my pleasure to curate your family reunion's entertainment, and it's always a sacred honor to commune with families as they celebrate history and legacy. Kenzi and our team love family engagement and celebrating the strength and longevity within our communities.
I look forward to the next time :)
Many thanks for the opportunity to serve; blessings and peace-
Sunya Folayan
Brooklyn M.
July 2, 2024Sunya's African Drummers were awesome! We hired them for our corporate Juneteenth event, and we truly enjoyed the interactive and educational aspect! Would love to have them back for future events!
Hired as: African Entertainment, Corporate Entertainment
Sunya Folayan
Thank you so much Ms. Marshall! Your vision and commitment to education and authenticity set the tone for a meaningful event. We enjoyed our time with you.
Sunya Folayan
Price range: $350-and up
Gig length: 20 - 45 minutes
Insurance: $1,000,000 - General Liability
Percussion selections with explanations of the history of songs, and interactive participation-emphasizing the interrelationship between dancers and drummers. I also teach classes/workshops by sharing information from West African and indigenous cultural groups- particularly the Malinke and SouSou peoples. I discuss the importance of connecting dance and percussion as part of mental health and wellness.
My performers and I my performers require very little equipment- usually chairs and a place to store our drum bags is our basic requirement. I strive to provide a professionally executed program to meet the customer's needs and am flexible and cool under pressure. We arrive ready to play.
I am a lifelong student of West African dance and percussion, and have studied under great West African teachers for more than 15 years. Among them Mohammed DaCosta, Yousef Kombassa, Babatunde Olatunji, Mouminatou Camara, Koto Ngun,and Lansana Camara to name a few. I founded the chamber music organization Garvey-Sisay- a world music percussion ensemble. Having history as a licensed clinical social worker for many years, and a certfied teaching artist and doctoral scholar, I realize the importance of drumming and dance patterns as part of education, health and wellness.
As a fiber artist and weaver, I continue the exploration of patterns and relationships and speak on art, mental health and empowerment as powerful catalysts for community and social change. I provide workshops, interactive discussions and classes for intimate groups as well as larger forums. I can do an intimate presentation alone, or I can bring an exciting ensemble of dancers and drummers to meet your entertainment and/or educational needs.
Our requirements are minimal: typically we need a secure place to store our drums and percussion instruments, a microphone and two additional chairs in addition to the ones for contracted performers. A performance generally runs from approximately 20-45 minutes in length.
Saturday
Reunion
6:30pm - 7:15pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Monday
Corporate Event
7:00pm - 7:30pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Sunday
Birthday Party
5:00pm - 5:30pm
•
Concord, NC
Saturday
Festival
11:00am - 3:00pm
•
Gastonia, NC
Sunday
Festival
12:00pm - 12:45pm
•
Belmont, NC
Friday
Birthday Party
5:30pm - 6:00pm
•
Rockingham, NC
Saturday
Birthday Party
7:30pm - 8:00pm
•
Fayetteville, NC
Friday
Fundraiser
6:00pm - 7:00pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Saturday
Birthday Party
6:30pm - 7:15pm
•
High Point, NC
Saturday
Nonprofit Event
5:00pm - 5:45pm
•
Marion, NC
Saturday
Festival
11:00am - 3:00pm
•
Gastonia, NC
Saturday
Nonprofit Event
11:00pm - 2:00am (Sun)
•
Spartanburg, SC
Saturday
Corporate Event
7:30pm - 8:00pm
•
Matthews, NC
Saturday
Anniversary Party
7:30pm - 7:45pm
•
Knightdale, NC
Saturday
Reunion
6:00pm - 6:45pm
•
South Boston, VA
Friday
Reunion
7:30pm - 8:00pm
•
Charleston, SC
Saturday
Festival
1:00pm - 1:15pm
•
Marion, NC
Saturday
Festival
10:00am - 2:00pm
•
Marshville, NC
Wednesday
Corporate Event
2:30pm - 2:45pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Wednesday
Cultural Event
11:30am - 12:30pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Saturday
Wedding Ceremony
5:00pm - 5:45pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Friday
Festival
2:00pm - 2:15pm
•
Spartanburg, SC
Saturday
Festival
11:00am - 3:00pm
•
Gastonia, NC
Thursday
Cultural Event
7:00pm - 7:45pm
•
Winston-Salem, NC
Saturday
Birthday Party
5:30pm - 5:45pm
•
Greensboro, NC
Saturday
Reunion
7:30pm - 8:30pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Saturday
Festival
10:00am - 10:30am
•
Marshville, NC
Saturday
Birthday Party
7:00pm - 8:00pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Saturday
Fundraiser
6:00pm - 7:00pm
•
Raeford, NC
Monday
Nonprofit Event
10:00am - 11:00am
•
Charlotte, NC
Saturday
Birthday Party
8:00pm - 8:30pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Saturday
Nonprofit Event
10:00am - 12:00pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Saturday
Dinner Party
8:00pm - 9:30pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Saturday
Nonprofit Event
11:00am - 11:30am
•
Raeford, NC
Saturday
Nonprofit Event
6:00pm - 6:15pm
•
Fort Mill, SC
Saturday
Nonprofit Event
2:00pm - 2:30pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Saturday
Birthday Party
8:00pm - 9:00pm
•
Shelby, NC
Saturday
Birthday Party
6:00pm - 11:00pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Tuesday
Nonprofit Event
12:00pm - 12:30pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Sunday
House Party
5:30pm - 7:30pm
•
Concord, NC
Saturday
Cultural Event
4:30pm - 5:30pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Wednesday
Personal Occasion
12:00pm - 1:00pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Thursday
Personal Occasion
11:30pm - 12:00am (Fri)
•
Charlotte, NC
Friday
Religious Celebration
6:30pm - 6:45pm
•
Huntersville, NC
Saturday
Birthday Party
7:00pm - 7:30pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Saturday
Birthday Party
4:00pm - 4:30pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Saturday
Birthday Party
9:30pm - 10:00pm
•
Creedmoor, NC
Saturday
Wedding Ceremony
5:00pm - 6:30pm
•
Spartanburg, SC
Saturday
Cultural Event
1:30pm - 2:30pm
•
Marion, NC
Saturday
Religious Celebration
12:00pm - 12:30pm
•
Winston-Salem, NC
Tuesday
Nonprofit Event
2:30pm - 3:30pm
•
Colfax, NC
Friday
Graduation Ceremony
11:00am - 12:00pm
Wednesday
Wells Fargo Juneteenth Presentation
6:00pm - 6:45pm
Saturday
Wedding and reception
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Saturday
Reunion
7:00pm - 7:15pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Friday
Camp Event
2:00pm - 2:45pm
•
Angier, NC
Tuesday
Corporate Event
5:30pm - 7:30pm
•
Washington, DC
Saturday
Reunion
5:00pm - 6:30pm
•
Dallas, NC
Wednesday
Cultural Event
11:30am - 12:15pm
•
Columbia, SC
Saturday
Festival
1:30pm - 2:15pm
•
Myrtle Beach, SC
Wednesday
School Assembly
5:30pm - 7:00pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Saturday
Fair
12:00pm - 12:45pm
•
Columbia, SC
Tuesday
Cultural Event
12:30pm - 1:30pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Tuesday
Campus Event
6:30pm - 7:30pm
•
Winston-Salem, NC
Thursday
School Assembly
5:30pm - 7:30pm
•
Blythewood, SC
Tuesday
Nonprofit Event
9:59am - 9:59am
•
Myrtle Beach, SC
Saturday
Wedding Reception
6:30pm - 11:30pm
•
Asheville, NC
Tuesday
Dinner Party
6:30pm - 7:30pm
•
Winston-Salem, NC
Friday
Cultural Event
7:00pm - 8:30pm
•
Mooresville, NC
Friday
Reunion
6:30pm - 10:30pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Friday
Cultural Event
12:00pm - 2:00pm
•
Kannapolis, NC
Saturday
Wedding Reception
5:00pm - 9:00pm
•
Charlotte, NC
Lamban,
Kou Kou,
Mandiani,
Doun Doun Ba
Joli'
Sente
Wolo Sodon
Habib Koite of Mali
Yousef Koumbassa of Guinea
The annual Florida African Dance Festival
Mohammed DaCosta, Mouminata Camara, Yalani Bangoura
Ballet de Africains
Ballet du Guinea
The Amazones of Guinea
the Late Babatunde Olatunji of Nigeria
Ngoma Ndiye of Senegal
The Late Koto Ngum of The Gambia
African Entertainment