Crimson Coast Dance Society will once again be inviting audiences to make African Connections with events this month.
The event will feature a workshop and performance from Kenyan Maasai dance artist Fernando Anuang’a, a born-and-raised Kenyan and self-taught dancer and choreographer. According to a news release from Crimson Coast Dance, Anuang'a draws on Maasai songs, ancestral memory and vocal rhythmic power for his gestural vocabulary and stark storytelling.
“He is really passionate about taking tradition into the future and continuously researching ways for Maasai dance to live fully in this era,” said Holly Bright, artistic director at Crimson Coast Dance.
During his time in Nanaimo, Anuang’a will share his knowledge of Maasai and contemporary dance through two classes. One will be for people of any skill level, on Thursday, Jan. 23. It costs $25 and members of Crimson Coast can attend free.
Anuang’a will perform Traditional Futures at a show on Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Port Theatre. According to the press release, it will be a vibrant 80-minute evening revealing the intensity of deeply rooted culture through a compelling contemporary fusion.
The evening will also feature a short film about the creation of the dance and an opportunity for the audience to chat with Anuang’a.
“It’s fascinating. It’s fulfilling and inspiring; it will stimulate dialogue, stimulate the act of talking with each other and bantering ideas. Maybe people have different interpretations of what they see and it’s beautiful, it’s just a phenomenal experience,” Bright said. “The performing arts … it really satisfies our first language, which is movement and even if we don’t know it is doing that or even if we think we don’t understand it, we are so smart, we do.”
Anuang’a will also take part in a free public conversation with Sonnet L’Abbé titled Sharing is Caring. The one-and-a-half-hour talk at the Vault Café on Friday, Jan. 24, will focus on the life and artistic statement of Anuang’a.
For tickets to the Traditional Futures performance and more information about the week's African Connections activities, visit http://crimsoncoastdance.com.
This is the sixth year that Crimson Coast Dance has organized African Connections to celebrate February's Black History Month.