More than a dozen members of Casquelourd's extended family told the council the center's new name would send a message of hope and inclusiveness to the community.

Casquelourd's daughter, Muisi-Kongo Malonga, said the renaming of the Alice Arts Center would be a fitting tribute to her father, who worked tirelessly to ensure that the center remained open to the public.

Every Saturday for 25 years, he taught African dance in Oakland, his longest tenure at the Alice Arts Center. And when there was a threat to close Alice Arts Center, Casquelourd led the public crusade to keep its doors open through parades, letter campaigns and marches.

"My father had a long history in not only just the dance and arts community but in giving to the arts community," said Casquelourd's oldest son, Kiazi Malonga.

Casquelourd moved his dance company to the Alice Arts Center when it opened in 1987 and back in 1993 after a renovation.

Casquelourd was one of the best-known Congolese dancers in the world, and an accomplished drummer, choreographer, singer and professor.

He was born in Douala, Cameroon, and spent years apprenticing at Community Fetes, learning Congolese cultural traditions. He became a principal dancer of the National Congolese Dance Company, then resident choreographer and principal performer with Le Ballet Diaboua, a Congolese repertory company in Paris.

Casquelourd helped found Citicenter Dance Theater in downtown Oakland, which is still at the Alice Arts Center. Over the years he brought dignitaries from around the world to teach and speak at the Alice.

Casquelord also established Fua Dia Congo, a nonprofit performing arts company, the Congolese Dance and Drum Camp, and Ballet Kizingu, the youth division of Fua Dia Congo. He taught at San Francisco State University for 26 years.

Alice Arts Center was built in 1927 and originally housed Oakland's women's clubs such as the Alameda County Birth Control League and the Oakland Opera Lecture Club.

The Mediterranean-style building held banquet halls, an underground swimming pool, rooftop tennis courts and a 1,000-seat theater.

The city signed a 20-year lease-to-buy option on the property in 1986 and turned it into the Alice Club Hotel and Arts Center. The city paid about $8 million to renovate the building in 1993, changing the name to Alice Arts Center.

Councilmember Nancy Nadel (Downtown-West Oakland), sponsored the latest name change after nearly 300 members of the Oakland dance and arts community signed a petition in support.

"It is quite fitting that the place where he dedicated his life should honor him," Muisi-Kongo Malonga said. "My father was a pioneer, and an ambassador."

E-mail Heather MacDonald at hmacdonald@angnewspapers.com.

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
(510) 208-6447
(510) 208-6477 Fax
lmclaughlin@angnewspapers.com Email