Coréon Dú

Early life

Coréon Dú was born in Luanda, Angola, to Maria Luísa Abrantes Perdigão and José Eduardo dos Santos . He spent the first years of his childhood in Luanda, Angola. A few years after his parent's separation, Coréon moved to Lisbon, Portugal and began living with his maternal grandparents at the age of 8. Coréon later moved to the U.S. to be educated. At the age of 11 he moved with his mother to Northern Virginia near Washington D.C.. While in middle school, he found his voice and began to pursue singing. During high school he became a soloist in the school choir, and developed a keen interest for musical theatre.

Coréon continued to perform in choirs during his time at Loyola University went on to gain a BA in Mass Communications. In 2010 he pursued a master's degree in Dance Theatre: The Body in Performance from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London.

Coréon Dú comes from a musical family. His grandfather's cousin, Liceu Vieira Dias was a founding member of Ngola Ritmos. His son, musician Carlitos Vieira Dias played a role in introducing Coreon to Filipe Mukenga and Filipe Zau, two of Angola´s most iconic composers. They wrote Serpente and Ilha, respectively, which became one of Coreons biggest songs to date.

Liceu´s nephew, André Mingas was also a guiding force as he wrote Lemba, which was well received in Angola.

His father´s first cousin, Beto Gourgel, was one of Angola´s most well known comedians & musicians. His son, Kizua Gourgel, is also a successful singer-songwriter from Angola. In the early 2000s, his first public performances happened with Kizua´s band, during some of his cousin's gigs in Luanda nightclubs.

Career

Inspired by his trip the Huíla province of Angola in 2000 during his summer holidays, Coréon started designing clothing using the local Samakaka print and other African inspired textiles. These designs mainly worn by friends and family, started generating buzz in Luanda and led to the start of his first business venture Z|E Designs with his cousin Emilia Abrantes in 2001. Z|E Designs presented collections in the inaugural Angola Fashion Week in 2001, as well as other local events such as the Moda Luanda Fashion Awards. Another notable participation, as a costume designer, includes the stage play, Jato de Sangue, which featured Brazilian actor Sergio Menezes and Angolan teen TV series Sede de Viver. Z|E mainly focused on event production after 2004, having their last fashion presentation in 2007 at the Trienal de Luanda.

On returning to Angola in 2006, Coréon Dú started Semba Comunicação as a boutique branding and communications agency. Overtime Semba has evolved into one of Angola´s premiere content production company´s in the Angolan market through projects such as Bounce and Windeck. Windeck premiered with great success in Angola in August 2013 and then went on to conquer record ratings in Portugal´s RTP 1 channel afternoon primetime slot. Windeck is just one of the projects that Coréon Dú has been involved in, but is potentially the most innovative and provocative of them all. Having been nominated for the best Telenovela at the 2013 International Emmy Awards, it is expanding into the international market with translations into English and French.

Another recent production includes the documentary I Love Kuduro named after his ever-popular festival. His film exploits have gained some notice including competing with Moments of Glory in the Oxaca Film Festival for Best Experimental short. His audiovisual dissertation "Festa de Quintal" also gained some attention not only academically but also some festival circuits. The film is divided into two parts, a documentary and a conceptual dance film about the worldwide tradition of house parties using the traditional Angolan backyard party as a template. Njinga- Queen of Angola has been one of Coréon´s most ambitious productions to date. The period film about 17th century regent Queen Njinga Mbande premiered with enormous buzz in Angola in November 2013.

As a musician, he released his debut album, The Coréon Experiment, in 2010. The album was produced by Latin Grammy-winning Brazilian producer Luiz Brasil. Among the album's contributors include famed musicians such as Luciana Abreu, Irina, Jeff Brown, and Heavy C.

After the album was released, he performed at several events including the XXIX Madrid Jazz Festival where he displayed his diverse fusion of sounds, which include influence from Semba, Pop, Funk, Bossa Nova, Rock, Kuduro and Kizomba. The performance has been one of the highlights of his musical career.

In 2013 Coréon launched his fan club, WeDú – The Coréon Dú Creative Community with a commemorative remix album "The WeDú Experiment", which features remixes and original material produced in collaboration with Phil Asher, DJ Satellite, DJ Spooky, Daniel Haaksman, Simmons Massini, DJ Manya, Luiz Brasil, Jerry Charbonnier, Lenni Sez and Nuno Mendes. This project was accompanied by a series of conceptual music videos shot using natural and urban landscapes from his home country and some avant-garde that a gained positive response from both fans and critics.

Due to his affinity with Caribbean and Latin music, Coréon has enlisted Grammy-winning producer Andres Levin to produce his next album. They are currently in the production phase for the project, working in several cities including New York, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Havana, Miami, and Austin to develop Coréon's sophomore album. "Bailando Kizomba" the first single from his sophomore was released in February 2014 and remained within the top 30 positions of the Billboard Latin Charts from the Spring of 2014 to the Fall of 2014.

Fashion

After a hiatus since 2007, Coréon Dú has made his return to fashion design with the release of his new label WeDú by Coréon Dú . Though the line has been carried in Angola, Namibia and other select African territories, its premiere outside of Africa happened in the Spring/Summer 2016 edition of New York Fashion Week at the Nylon Magazine official fashion week party on September 10, 2015. According to the artist´s recent interviews, WeDú´s main objective is to provide comfort and allow each individual to express his or her own creativity in the everyday though how they wear it.

WeDú started as the artists show and appearance merchandise inspired by some of the fan´s favorite Coréon Dú stage and street style looks. In 2013 it started being carried as fashion line by an Angolan retailer with shops in Angola and Namibia.

Coréon Dú's model scouting efforts have also led to great success. He is a regular contributor as judge of Elite Model Look contests in Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, & South Africa. It is an ongoing collaboration between Elite Model World and his talent management company Da Banda. The contests have made international breakthroughs with several local models that have appeared in catwalks for Vivienne Westwood, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Prada and other well-known fashion houses. Current face of Barneys New York's Fall 2014 campaign Mauza Antonio & Maria Borges best known as one of the faces of H&M, Givenchy and the Victoria´s secret 2013 show, Roberta Narciso and Alécia Morais are among the models Coréon discovered and trained through these Da Banda´s contests.

Coréon's scouting efforts yielded him Amilna Estevão, the first African model in 30 years to be in Elite Model Look World Final top 3.

Activism

Among his activism efforts include the 2009 documentary series Delinquência Estou Fora, a documentary series to raise awareness juvenile delinquency in Angola, its causes, and alternatives. This was a follow up to the Droga Diga Não ("Drugs - Just Say NO") project where he toured the country on speaking engagements to educate and motivate youth groups and local institutions to be more engaged on the issue. He also helped organize free concerts attended by more than 40,000 people at a time. In an effort to advocate gender equality he established the Divas Angola Awards in 2007 to celebrate the achievements of women in business, education, fashion, sports, music, music and philanthropy. Notable international artists such as Latin legend Juan Luis Guerra, the award-winning Adriana Calcanhoto, and Paula Lima have performed past editions of the event in support for the cause of gender equality.

Since then Coréon Dú has tried to integrate his interest in pro-youth and cultural activism dynamically into his work. He developed |Bounce which is a contest to allow further study and apprenticeship opportunities to disadvantaged youths with dance talent. in 2008, Bounce started being broadcast on local television which has given opportunities for talented young individuals to study dance with dance companies and dance centers in Portugal, the United States and Brazil. The most recent edition of Bounce was held in 2013. The contest has produced some of the biggest dance related celebrities in Angolan pop culture including dancer/choreographer Manuel Kanza who has been teaching Kuduro , AfroBeat and Hip Hop classes all over the world. Dance troupe turned girl band As Afrikanas are also among notable Bounce alumni, as well as Felix Alvarez a Cuban refugee who was a finalist in the first season of Bounce and has become one of the most sought after dancers / choreographers in Angola Success stories from Bounce are also gaining international prominence as two young Angolan dancers who earned scholarship prizes from the contest are performing on international stages. Geovany Carvalho performed in the 2016 Summer Olympics opening in Rio de Janeiro where he currently works as a dance instructor. Dilo Paulo has also relocated to Brazil where he is performing and touring with the prestigious Debora Colker contemporary dance company.

Awards and accolades

After well known Mexican journalist and blogger Luis GyG considered him Africa´s best kept secret in 2014, Coréon Dú has been considered by Forbes to be one of the 15 Young African Creatives Rebranding Africa the following year. The media mentions are among some of the growing recognition of the artist´s work by the creative industry in and out of his home country.

Controversies

There have been critics of Coréon and negative speculations have risen due to his father being the President of Angola. The common accusation is that there is a political agenda linked to Coréon work as an artist. Despite the constant attack and speculation by journalists and media outlets there is no verifiable proof has been presented to validate these accusations.

Coréon has been very vocal over the years about how being related to people with political careers has negatively affected his career both in and out of Angola. He also recounts that most Angolan radio stations and DJs in his home country refuse to play his music, and most major concert promoters refuse to book him for shows. He only started gained visibility mainly through catchy songs that became favourites of Luanda taxi drivers and music pirates, and innovative music video concepts . Music media only started following as direct fan demand for his work grows over the years .

Allegations of nepotism have surrounded Semba's success as a TV production company, and many other aspects his family's involvement in Angolan business and politics.

He has also come under fire by Angolan media and church groups for the inclusion of GLBT talent and issues in the TV shows produced by Semba Comunicação, including openly gay presenters such as Hady Lima. Semba was also the only production company that did not ban Titica from their programming after she publicly revealed that she was a transsexual. Windeck, the soap series written and produced by Coréon, has had some similar issues due to well-known actors, such as leading man Freddy Costa, playing gay characters.

This controversy was reignited after a brief kiss between two of the male characters of Semba Comunicação´s soap opera Jikulumessu on January 28, 2015. As series creator Coréon Dú and production company Semba came under fire, being accused by churches, conservative local press and viewers of trying to "promote" and "expand" homosexual behaviours in Angola and especially among young viewers. On February 2, 2015 the show´s broadcaster in TPA (Televisão Publica de Angola) suspended the show´s broadcast at 9 PM its TPA 1 channel alleging "technical difficulties".

In a public statement posted to the show´s Facebook page and sent to press services in Angola, Semba Comunicação declared that the shows intention in portraying sensitive social issues such as polygamy, substance abuse, sexual violence and even homosexuality was intended to generate a healthy dialogue around these subjects while without the intention to shock or offend. The company also offered the possibility to edit the show in order for it not to clash with their client´s audience's views and values. Though conservative viewers celebrated this, the fans of the showed voiced their discontent especially through social media.

This incident became headline news nationally and caught the attention of international media outlets. On February 5, 2015, TPA returned Jikulumessu to the air after fans pleas for its return.

Coréon also criticized lack of support from Angolan communities during Hurricane Katrina, which upset Angolan diplomats both in Luanda and U.S.

Coréon produced a sex education program called Sexolandia hosted by singer/actress Tatiana Durão. The program caused conservatives in Angola to complain that the show was perverting young minds, though the program was still popular. It featured psychologists, healthcare professionals and other specialists answering questions from studio and street audiences, as well as local celebrities sharing personal stories about themes including infertility, relationships, sex toys, teen pregnancy, and STD prevention.