Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 13 (IANS) In the first major showcase of African culture in the country,
reputed performers from South Africa, Rwanda, Tunisia, Malawi and Nigeria will showcase traditional African performing arts at a three-day festival in the capital next week.

The festival from May 18-20 is “essentially an attempt to familiarise the Indian audience with the traditional African performing arts”, a statement from the host Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) said.

The highlights of the festival to be showcased at the Kamani theatre include performances by Ubuhle Besintu (The Beauty of Culture), a traditional dance troupe from South Africa; performance by Urukerereza, the Rwandan National Ballet; a performance by Aka Kwacha, the national dance troupe of Malawi, and choreographies by troupes from Nigeria and Tunisia.

The Tunisian troupe, Ifriga, will take the audience on a journey through the musical traditions of Tunisia and the cultures that it has assimilated in its music and dances over the centuries.

It will render a collection of music of North Africa that has its origin in the ancient cultures that existed in Ifriga - Tunisia-North Africa region - until the present day through Saharan and Berber music.

The band was founded by professor of music Brahim Bahloul, a musician-percussionist-creator and a composer.

The Malawi National Ballet Aka Kwacha revives, preserves and performs various traditional dances of Malawi for education and socio-economic growth.

It mobilises opinion and raises awareness about traditional culture through workshops in remote villages. The troupe set up in 1987 comprises 22 men and 18 women drawn from all districts of Malawi.

The Ubuhle Besintu project seeks to promote access and development of South African indigenous traditional dances as part of the heritage, education and entertainment.

It is funded by the department of arts and culture in South Africa under the Business & Arts South Africa (BASA) scheme to find leverage space between business and arts.

Rwanda, a country that had existed as a monarchy for over four centuries, wove much of its cultural traditions around the Royal Court.

Created in 1974, Urukerereza, the national ballet of Rwanda showcases the national folklores of the country in all its forms and varieties.

Between 1974 and 1994, the Urukerereza toured the globe to wide acclaim - particularly in Europe and north America. Many of its best-known musicians and dancers perished during the Rwandan genocide in 1994 that killed an estimated 800,000 people.