Contemporary Dance Fest.

Saturday night I went to a contemporary dance festival. It was a 4 day festival with dances from East African groups and some European groups. I got to see 3 Tanzanian, an Ethiopian, and Swedish performances. It was interesting to say the least. The last Tanzanian one was downright bizarre and I didn't get it at all. It was titled Rood which means red in Dutch and involved alot of red paint being dumped on the dancers. It was way over my head. I wasn't expecting to see men dancing in their underwear, which I'm sure the parents that bought their kids weren't expecting either.

I did really like the one called Black in White. This dance was about a horrendous human rights violation that still occurs today, killing of albinos. Witch doctors are still practicing making magic potions out of human body parts. Albinos are targeted for these killings for 2 reasons: One, they are not considered to be human. Two, it's believed by the witch doctors that the skin of an albino has magical power. Women and children are mostly targeted. These killings are endemic to most of sub-Saharan Africa. I haven't learned the complete history of these killings, but they still occur today. This dance was portraying these killings. What was interesting was that the choreographer mixed medias and used bits of an interview with an albino woman as a backdrop to the dance. It was emotional as she talked of how her mom fear This is an issue I definitely want to understand better. I'm anticipating a visit in November to the region where most of the killings have taken place. Once I learn more Ill be sure to share it.

All in all it was an interesting night. I'm glad to finally see a cultural event in Dar as they seem to be scarce.