TD4R Project: Prep
The holiday season has finally come to an end here in Nairobi and the traffic is picking back up and business is too. Wednesday I met with the director -Njenga- and Board member- Marilyn-of the NGO known as Shangilia which is located in the Kangemi slum. I visited the two sites where work is being done with kids who come from situations that make it nearly impossible for them to get a good education and develop to become confident and healthy individuals in their communities. The performing arts is what Shangilia started out being all about. They have expanded to become a school and housing facility. Their new location (on “the land”) is impressive and will boast a large central performance space, greenhouses, gardens, classrooms and housing.
Njenga & Marilyn on The Land
While visiting The Land site, I met Shadrack and Edward, two leading members of a Youth-to-Youth project that provides sex-ed to people in the area. Shadrack took me to their “community center” located on The Land along where “the squatters” live. In their shack, there is a small space for dancing and making theater, a very humble computer lab/internet hub, and an office that holds boxes of condoms (they gave out 14,000 in the past 6 months), sex-ed info pamphlets and reusable/washable maxi-pads to be distributed to women in need.
the back of the Youth-to-Youth center on The Land at Shangilia
Before all this, I went over to test out the wood paneled floor that Shangilia have as their staging right now in the slum location, to see if it was fit for tapping (aka: not cement or wood sitting on cement). The children (little ones) that do not have anywhere to go for Holiday were there and found it nearly impossible to sit still while I tested out the floor. Some of them jumped up and started to stomp out rhythms on the floor. I can tell this is going to be a really fun and beneficial place to Tap Dance (and Hooping!) Tonight, I find my way over to Marilyn’s for dinner where I will learn more about Shangilia’s roots and how Tap Dance and Hooping can fit into their long-range goals. We officially start classes there on Monday.
On Monday, we also begin a residency with VOCAL and the dancers there. VOCAL is one of the programs I worked with last year (it was my favorite). It is directed by percussionist George Ndiritu and so has a very musical edge to it. We sat down and planned out a schedule and talked about ideas for how to build on what we did last year and prepare the dancers to become the new keepers of this form. We have ideas to work long-term with this group and provide them with a new skill (tap dance) that they can use to inform their artistry, build up their communities, help audiences to make the shift from the more traditional forms of dance they are used to viewing, and assist the dancers with having more ways of making a living.
Right now, I am on my out to meet with another a contemporary dancer, Adam Lucas. (I met a dancer named Sarah first who connected me to Adam, I’ll tell you more about her later.) Adam was introduced to Tap this past spring by Dutch dance artist Marieke van der Ven, who came to Nairobi under the Ghetto Exposed project. Apparently, Marieke and I are the only professional Tap Dancers to be doing this kind of work here and it’s a strange coincidence that we both came here in 2012. I am in the process of connecting with her.
Adam is finding himself quite fond of Tap Dance now and is eager to learn more and fuse it with his comtemporary studies and dance making experimentation. Adam, like me, makes dances with people with disabilities and has formed a company called Uwezo Mix Dance Theater. I look forward to learning more about his work and tap dancing with him.
Adam, Sarah and I will be meeting at the GoDown Arts Centre on Monday to put in place a Tap Dance workshop there for the Contemporary Dance community here. GoDown seems to be an place of real value to the Contemporary Dance community. They offer creative economy classes, space for rehearsals, classes, and showings.
I have decided that the final outreach location for this trip will be back at the Baba Dogo slum with Ramadhan’s ACREF program. I was there last year as well and have maintained a good connection to Ramadhan. They also have a bulk of the tap shoes that I donated and we are in the process of getting some wood-floor pieces for them to dance on. The two dancers that teach there, Simon and Jack, will be taking part again in the Tap workshops and will be interviewed for my Dancemakers podcast.
That’s enough for now. Monika arrives tomorrow night and we have a hefty schedule coming into focus. I am glad to be able to put the camera down and let her do her magic while I focus on the dance making (and the writing of course). I’ll keep you updated as best as I can as the process unfolds.
Our next updates will be password protected as promised for our funders and supporters. If you are not a supporter of the project, it’s not too late to donate to receive further updates with more pics and videos! Go HERE and scroll down to donate via Paypal. Or send a check written to: Creatures of Habitat and mail it to: Stefanie Weber PO BOX 3094 Pittsfield, MA 01202 USA. Then email me: stefanie (at) fertileuniverse (dot) com to let me know it’s on the way!
Thank you and be well,
-Stefanie
It’s great to hear from you, Stefanie, and to see the photos. What exciting, important, and fun work you’re doing. We’re real proud of you. Joan and Mike