Cornell Coley

Cornell Coley, M.Ed. (www.afrolatin.net) is an award-winning percussionist, dancer, teacher and public performance artist whose work spans performance, community development, education and health. His major cultural influences include the drum and dance traditions of West and Central Africa, the Caribbean, Brazil and the USA. He is a trained HealthRHYTHMS drum circle facilitator and certified by the Drum Circle Facilitators Guild.

Mr. Coley has won numerous local and national grants and awards, including from the Mass Cultural Council, New England Foundation for the Arts, The Boston Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He has taught Afro-Latin dance at 10 major colleges. He founded and directs the Afrika Gente Music Project, a collaborative that includes top local musicians and performing artists in other genres. The most recent projects as producer and performer are “Rhythm Recipes: BIPOC Joy and Healing” in 2022 and “An Evening in Ghana.” Plus, in 2024, he produced “Rhythm Recipes-Sankofa” and “An Evening in Brazil.”