About

Tyehimba grew up in Oakland, California. By the age of 10 he had developed a love of music and dance through the church. At 15, he started formal dance classes, and by age 18 began his career teaching gymnastics and dance. Tyehimba's formal dance training included Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Modern Dance and the Dunham Technique. Concurrently, he sang with the Oakland Children’s and Youth Choruses. As a young adult, Tyehimba moved to Sacramento. There he attended California State University at Sacramento (CSUS) where he studied theater under the late great Dr.Thomas Michael Gates. While at CSUS, Tyehimba founded The West African Drum and Dance Club, and trained in clowning under Dr. Patch Adams and Wavy Gravy of Camp Winnarainbow. He was also mentored in dance by James Wheatley at Celebration Arts, and Pepper Von of Step 1 Dance Academy. Tyehimba joined the Black Repertory Dance Troupe of UC Davis to pursue his goal of becoming a choreographer. While with the Troupe, he attended his first West African dance class. He began his formal training in West African dance in Oakland soon after. His teachers included Linda Faye Johnson and Zak and Naiomi Diouf which led to further study with the late greats, Alasane Kane and Abdoulia Diakite. Tyehimba joined "CEEDO” (Chedo) West African Drum and Dance Troupe in 1986, where he passionately pursued and mastered Djembe drumming. In 2002, after completing ten years of rigorous training Tyehimba founded Lions Den Entertainment, which he rebranded as the Lions Den Education Institute (LDEI) in 2022, to focus on the healing aspects of drumming and dance. Through the LDEI, Tyehimba aspires to make healing through the arts accessible to all by instructing, inspiring and encouraging different forms of movement. Tyehimba is a certified ZUMBA instructor and also teaches classes in the Circus Arts. Tyehimba holds a BA in Ethnic Studies, a minor in Dance, and a MA in Education in Curriculum and Instruction with an Emphasis in the Arts. He has partnered with Sacramento START and is listed in the Arts Education Resource Directory. In 2006, Tyehimba received a grant from the Neighborhood Arts Program, and later in 2022 a grant from Creative Sonoma. Tyehimba's objective as an experienced arts educator, professional performer, circus artist, and K-12 youth sports coach and mentor, is to culturally enlighten the community by offering classes, courses, educational opportunities and insight. As an educator, Tyehimba has witnessed first-hand how the African experience has been omitted from most mainstream educational systems. Through his work and the LDEI, Tyehimba uses the cultural arts to educate, enlighten and merge the two worlds.