Calling all African dancers!

JOHANNESBURG - Preparations have begun for the 2011 edition of the All Africa Music and Dance Festivals on Peace, to be jointly held in Kenya and Nigeria later this year.

The dance festival is an annual cultural extravaganza on the theme of peace, organised by Purple Images Productions, with its main aim being to bring people together to celebrate the wealth and diversity of African dance.

Zimbabwean groups have always been a constant feature in the event, where they have performed alongside a strong list of artists from countries like Norway, India, Sweden, Italy, Netherlands, South Africa, Denmark, Sudan, United States of America, France, Congo, Spain, Ghana, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and Brazil, among others.

Last years event, themed Celebrating the Role of Cultural Dance in Peace Building and Human Understanding, saw a number of Zimbabwean dance ensembles, singers and drama groups, including Umkhathi Theatre, Ancestral Horizons, Rooftop Promotions and some music teachers and choreographers, showcasing their talents at Kenyan International Conference Centre (KICC) last December.

Organisers said this week that the 2011 edition of the festival will be held in Calabar, Nigeria in December, but a build-up festival will preamble it on August 27-28 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The application deadline for groups seeking to participate at one or both of the festivals is July 30 and the organisers invited proposals and called on prospective participants to begin applying and stick to the proposed dates.

The Festival Programme of the All Africa Dance Festivals on Peace in Kenya

and Nigeria will be compiled from proposals that are reviewed by a

Festival Committee by the deadline, Festival President, Karegwa Muchiri said on Monday.

The participation selection has no set criteria and is open to all artists, and all styles, choreographers, dance troupes and peace educators who register to present their artistic work.

He added that detailed proposals for the Main Programme should include the background of the institution, organisation or individual submitting the proposal; a narrative description of the production, exhibition or performance; brief narrative biographies of the principal artists proposed for the production or exhibition; and an artistic statement explaining why the work should be presented at the 2011 Festival.

Post published in: Music

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