Ndey Fatou Jabang Leads Flex Fuzion on 36 Performance Cultural Tour of Poland

Written by: Alieu Jallow

Flex Fuzion has concluded an extensive cultural tour of Poland, delivering 36 performances and festival appearances across three major international folklore festivals while showcasing Gambian and West African music, dance, costumes and traditions to audiences across the country.

Led by its founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ndey Fatou Jabang, the Gambian cultural ensemble travelled through several Polish communities, providing a platform to present The Gambia beyond its conventional tourism image while creating opportunities for cultural exchange, professional networking and international exposure.

The journey began at the 29th International Folklore Festival, where Flex Fuzion made 11 performances and appearances in Legnica and surrounding towns and municipalities.

The festival brought together folklore groups from different parts of the world, allowing participating countries to showcase their cultural traditions while learning from one another and engaging with Polish communities.

From Legnica, the group travelled to West Pomerania, where it delivered 16 performances across different communities, including an appearance at the historic Świdwin Castle.

The final leg of the tour took the ensemble to the Brusy region, where it made another nine appearances.

Across the three festival circuits, Flex Fuzion presented traditional Gambian and West African dances, live percussion, music and colourful costumes through concerts, parades and community performances.

The group shared stages and cultural spaces with ensembles from Mexico, Ukraine, Chile, Slovenia, Poland, Senegal, Romania, India, the Czech Republic, Ecuador and North Macedonia, creating opportunities for friendship, cultural learning and professional connections.

Beyond the performances, the tour also provided opportunities for Jabang and the Gambian delegation to introduce audiences and fellow participants to aspects of Gambian languages and gastronomy.

For Flex Fuzion, the experience was about more than entertainment. It was an opportunity to use culture as a vehicle for telling The Gambia’s story, promoting the country’s identity and opening doors for young Gambian performers.

Jabang described the tour as an important milestone for the organisation and for the international visibility of Gambian performing arts.

“Every community we visited gave us another opportunity to share a piece of The Gambia and Africa at large.”

She said one of the most meaningful aspects of the tour was seeing audiences with little previous knowledge of The Gambia connect with Gambian rhythms, dances and traditions.

“We went to Poland to perform and represent our country as well as learn from others and build relationships that can create more opportunities for Gambian artists,” Jabang said.

For the performers, the experience also offered a rare opportunity to see first hand how other countries preserve and present their cultural heritage.

Mariama Camara, a dancer with Flex Fuzion, said watching audiences respond to Gambian music and dance was one of the highlights of the journey.

“In many of the places we visited, people were experiencing Gambian music and dance for the first time but once the drums started, you could see them smiling, dancing and joining us.”

She said the experience strengthened her sense of pride in representing The Gambia internationally.

The same sentiment was echoed by Kaddijatou Baldeh, Captain of the Afriq Divas Ensemble, who said the tour taught the performers lessons beyond the stage.

“We met artists from different countries, experienced Polish culture and traditions, and saw how other groups preserve and present their heritage,” Baldeh said.

At the same time, she noted that the Gambian delegation was able to share its own traditions with international audiences.

“Carrying The Gambia’s flag throughout this journey was a moment of great pride for me.”

According to Baldeh, the performers returned home with new friendships, experiences and greater confidence as artists and cultural ambassadors.

The tour also exposed Flex Fuzion’s performers to different approaches to cultural preservation, festival organisation and international cultural presentation.

Moving between communities and performing before diverse audiences required the group to continuously adapt while maintaining the authenticity of the traditions it represented.

The successful tour was supported by State of Mic Multimedia and the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC), whose contributions helped facilitate Flex Fuzion’s participation and representation of The Gambia in Poland.

Jabang and Flex Fuzion expressed appreciation to the organisers of the three festivals, municipalities, cultural institutions, coordinators, guides, volunteers and Polish communities whose hospitality contributed to the success of the tour.

For Flex Fuzion, the Poland experience represents more than the completion of 36 performances. It is another step in the broader effort led by Jabang to ensure that Gambian performing arts are preserved at home while gaining greater visibility and recognition internationally.

The organisation says it intends to build on the relationships established during the tour and continue promoting Gambian culture abroad, while using the experience gained to strengthen performing arts training, festival organisation, cultural preservation and the professional development of young Gambian performers.

From the rhythms of Gambian drums to the stages of Poland, Flex Fuzion’s journey has demonstrated how culture can travel far beyond borders, creating connections, opening opportunities and giving the world another reason to discover The Gambia.