By John Owoo
(In Berlin – Germany)
Kuyum Tanzplattform 2024 opened on Wednesday at the Theater Haus Berlin (Germany) with a cool performance by four musicians that heralded five days of varied dance performances, workshops, presentations and discussions.
Percussionists Nii Ashitey Nsotse (Ghana), Paraya Diallo (Guinea) and Janos Crecelius (Germany) alongside balafonist Moussa Coulibaly (Burkina Faso) lighted up the stage with a histrionic fusion of diverse rhythms.
The quartet sent the audience on a captivating musical journey through vibrant sounds of Africa that celebrated the diversity of African music as they weaved together traditional beats, contemporary grooves and innovative improvisations.
Energy emanating from djembes, doundouns, shakers and the balafon seamlessly flowed through the stage in a mesmerizing soundscape. Indeed, it was a sonic exploration that transported the audience to different parts of the Africa while leaving patrons enthralled by the power of music to unite diverse traditions.
Welcoming artists and other guests to the festival, the director of Kuyum Tanzplattform Felix Dompreh revealed that over thirty countries in Africa, Europe and South America will particpate in the 2024 edition, which will be largely held at the Theater Haus Berlin.
He stated that the aim of the festival is to offer invited artists a platform on which they can present neo-African dance performances to a broader audience – indeed, free from the attributions and clichés that often lurk behind them.
Kuyum Tanzplattform aims at helping to outline and create new narratives concerning African dance as an effective art form capable of contributing to the development of dance in the freelance scene of Berlin and beyond.
It will equally empower dancers and choreographers of African descent and others to acquire and advance their understanding of “Neo African Dance Forms” through advanced training programs, seminars, workshops and an annual dance festival in Berlin.
The festival is being sponsored by Hauptstadt Kultur Fonds and Theatre Haus Berlin with friendly support from HZT, Joliba, Berlin Mondiale and Tanz Fähig. Media partners include Berlin Art Link, Rausgegangen, Stadtkultur Berlin, Dinamix and www.artsghana.net.
Congratulations Felix and team!
Love, Mama Jeannine