During the bi-annual Windhoek International Dance Festival (WIDF) held late last month, Trixie Munyama, the Coordinator of the event said that she is very proud that this years’ experience was a success and that many Namibian dance academies took part in the annual program.
She is convinced that WIDF uplifts talented dancers.
The well-received dance festival was hosted by the National Arts Council of Namibia and took place at the College of the Arts (COTA) in Windhoek.
The three day dance extravaganza was held under the theme “Inter-Acts” and kicked off with a lab-based platform where artists re-imagine movement.
The aim of the WIDF is to raise awareness of dance, dancers, choreographers and dance studios in Windhoek. It was a great opportunity for dancers to show off their skills by becoming part of the festival. This bi-annual event entitled Inter-Acts brought different artists together and created new dance work in unconventional spaces.
Munyama described the event as successful and eye-opening to most of the Namibian youth that attended the event. They each were given platforms and boom-box to dance, create steps/moves, and feel their talent for movement art.
“This was an opportunity were Namibian dancing groups and artists could show their talent. Those participating had a sense of ownership of what they were doing; they did not sit around and wait for someone to come give them everything they want or need; they created on their own,” Munyama said.
She further said that the problem with appreciating arts is that dancers are seen as ‘secondary’ in the fine arts world, but this event allowed them to shine.
Daniel Kuhlmann, assistant dance teacher at the H2E Dance Company of Namibia said that he liked performing at the WIDF because music uplifted his soul and mind and he also learned new things that unite him with other people. “I want to share my skills and express my feelings, music helps me accept and respect myself and it also make me comfortable” he said.
Kuhlmann, who has been dancing since 2014, performed lyrical Hip-hop on the boom box platform.
A participant from South Africa, Themba Mbuli stated that music and dance are universal languages that connect people and enable people to exchange their talents with the whole universe. “Dance is the most useful to personal development, I want to get more exposure and work together with others” she said.
Mbuli, who has been dancing for more than 11 years, performed an Afro-fusion dance style based on African dance mixed with contemporary dance.
Taimi Sheehama who took part in the free workshop classes appreciated the event, but felt a bit lost by its rapid pace of creativity. “Dancing is the best way to keep myself calm as it soothes the mind, But, for me, the music and dance made at WIDF was too fast, so I ended up confused about how to dance with it.”
This article was published on the Windhoek Observer Newspaper . See the link below
https://www.observer.com.na/index.php/lifestyle/item/10497-widf-uplifts-talented-dancers
https://www.observer.com.na/index.php/lifestyle/item/10497-widf-uplifts-talented-dancers
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