Atiba Rorie

Djembe master, guitarist and songwriter Atiba Rorie earned his BA in Music from UNC Greensboro in 2007, where he is now a lecturer and dance music coordinator. He is the founder, percussionist, and bandleader for of the acclaimed international multi-genre band, Africa Unplugged.

Atiba studied with masters such as Babatunde Olatunji, Fahali Igbo, Bradley Simmons and Chief Bey. Further studies have found him working with The National Dance Ensemble of Ghana in Accra, Ghana, and a one-month intensive study in Guinea, West Africa.

Atiba has served as an adjunct faculty member at Winston Salem State University leading a West African dance class, a guest lecturer at the Atlanta African Dance and Drum Festival, a guest lecturer at Radford University in West African Dance and Music, and an adjunct professor at Guilford College in West African drumming. As a dance accompanist for modern and West African dance, he has worked at the American Dance Festival since 2008 and at UNC Greensboro since 2006.

Besides leading his own band, Atiba has worked with many professional ensembles, performing at countless venues, including Dance Africa in New York, Tedx Greensboro, National Black Arts Festival, Black Dance USA, and two Presidential Inauguration Celebrations. In 2005 Rorie was invited to participate in a Drums of Passion Tribute to Babatunde Olatunji at the Percussive Arts Society International Conference. He has been a guest artist at CaldCluegh Community Center, Duke University, High Point University, Agnes Scott College, Williams College, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival, Black College Dance Exchange, North Carolina School of the Arts, and Radford University.