So as I am beginning to look for possible collaborators from among fellow artists in Zambia, new doors started opening up. My meeting with Barefeet Theater group has really been an eye-opening experience.
At Barefeet Theater (BFT), the actors work with street kids and use theater as a medium of social upliftment. After several phone calls and emails, I finally met Tobias who had invited me to their Christmas play last month, “All Hail, Chief of Chibombobombo”, an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol. The play was directed by Paula visiting from the UK and the assistant director was Adam who’s the local white head of the group. When I spoke to them later, I found out that all the actors were street kids and black youth who were picked up and were being trained to become actors, singers and dancers. That art is being used as a way to instill confidence, to educate and expose them to the outside world is a lofty objective. Obviously Barefeet Theater has international funding from European non-profit charitable organizations that are in the noble business of service to the arts and society.
Taonga Tembo from BFT took me to visit a community school in a compound where local poor children of all ages try to get an education. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work that well because some of them don’t have money to pay for school unless they find a sponsor. The boys and girls of all ages 5-19 are grouped not by age but by level of reading, writing ability. So for eg. one classroom where basic arithmetic is being taught could have up to 40 students of mixed ages. Taonga and his colleagues do theater-related workshops with these groups where they take up topics such as Children’s Rights, or AIDS. They discuss about it and create performance pieces as a group. For those kids that are not able to learn in a typical classroom setting, this is a hands-on approach to learn. After developing the piece, they take it to the marketplace or homes to give small performance and carry the message to the local community. What a wonderful way of using art as a tool for educating at grass roots level. As I saw them perform their traditional dancing with drumming, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I decided that I will work with some of these people.
I was given a warm welcome and when I told them I’m looking for dancers for my production, they were enthusiastic to pick up some Indian dance moves. When I told Taonga that I will be back next week to work with them, he assured me that word will spread easily and I can easily expect a much larger number of participants who will flock to learn Indian dancing! I decided that not only do I want to use some of them in my production Shakuntala, but as my husband suggested, I hope to continue my interaction with them in the coming months while I am in Zambia to teach them Indian classical & folk dances. That will be my social service to people in this part of the world, the less fortunate ones that are deprived of opportunities and resources. I'm sure the local dancers will expect some remuneration or honorarium to cover expenses (travel and chai-pani we we call it in India!) which I must be prepared to shell out from my pocket.
Looking at the situation here in contrast to North America where I came from, and comparing it to American affluence, there is so much to be done. The realization that dancers must create work not just to entertain audiences, but also to educate and enlighten gets reinforced. I really feel privileged to be here and to be able to contribute in any small way possible - even it's if going to be a few drops in a large ocean....
No comments:
Post a Comment