Listening in Africa

The Art of Listening
by Henning Mankell, The New York Times, December 10, 2011

Malangatana Ngwenya, painter, 74

Malangatana Ngwenya, Mozambican Painter and Poet, Dies at 74
by Holland Cotter, The New York Times, January 8, 2011

Mozambique art camp

The Tambo International Art Camp in Mozambique offers two weeks of workshops--dance, theater, music, design and more--plus performances and visits with local and foreign artists. For more information, click here.

Makeda Thomas: Body and Soul podcast

Choreographer Makeda Thomas (of Roots and Wings Movement!) called from Trinidad to speak with me about the tragic killing of her colleague, Augusto Cuvilas, one of Mozambique's most celebrated dance artists. Although the sound quality of this phone interview is not ideal, the information she presents is very important, and time is of the essence. Makeda has been invited to join with South African choreographer Boyzie Cekwana to complete a project that the three were working on at the time of Cuvilas's death. For more information on how you can help, visit Makeda's site at www.makedathomas.org.

Makeda Thomas is from Trinidad & Tobago and has presented work at HARLEM Stage/Aaron Davis Hall, Dance Theater Workshop, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Chicago Women's Performance Arts Festival, Maputo's Teatro Africa, Caribbean Contemporary Arts (CCA7), and as a Cultural Envoy for the U.S. Department of State. Her choreography has been commissioned by 651 ARTS Black Dance: Tradition & Transformation (2007) and received awards from the United States Embassy (2006 & 2005), Puffin Foundation (2005), New York State Council on the Arts (2005), Bossak-Heilbron Charitable Foundation (2005), Arts International (2003), Yellowfox Foundation (2006), and the National AIDS Council of Moçambique (2005).

In 2004, during its 25th Anniversary season, she was named Resident Choreographer of Companhia Nacional De Canto e Dança. Graça Machel (Former First Lady of South Africa and Moçambique) serves as the Honorary Patron of her internationally acclaimed work, "A Sense of Place" (2005), on which she presented at the 1st Conference on New Perspectives in African Performing & Visual Arts. In 2007, she became a featured choreographer in ‘This Woman’s Work: Choreographic Development Project Representing Women of Color’ - joining Camille A. Brown, Bridget Moore, Shani Collins, Princess Mhoon Cooper, Francine Ott, & Ursula Payne.

As a dancer, Makeda Thomas has toured internationally in the companies of Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, URBAN BUSH WOMEN, and Rennie Harris/ Puremovement, and independently with Robin Becker Dance, Lula Washington Dance Theater, and Stephen Koplowitz. She began her study in Brooklyn, New York with Michael Goring, continuing on scholarship at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, The Paul Taylor School and Hofstra University where she earned a B.A. in Dance and English.

Ms. Thomas has conducted research projects in South Africa and The Netherlands, artistic residencies in Hawaii and Florida; and arts in education projects with The Dalton School, Arts in Ed. Institute of Western NY, and NYC Dept. of Education. She continues to create dance works and perform internationally, while living in New York City & Port of Spain.

Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at
http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml.

(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

This material may not be reproduced in any way, either in part or in its entirety, without the expressed written permission of Eva Yaa Asantewaa.

MP3 File

Appeal from choreographer Makeda Thomas

New York/Trinidad-based dance artist Makeda Thomas sends the following appeal:

Hello Everyone,

Many of you know that since 2004 I have made dances for the National Company of Mozambique. In December 2007, Augusto Cuvilas, my colleague at CNCD and one of Mozambique's most highly regarded dance artists was "mistakenly" killed in his home by police. I received a call last month from his wife, Chimene Costa. She is, in the midst of doing press conferences and filing reports, working to keep Augusto's work alive. She has invited me and South African choreographer Boyzie Cekwana to develop the project they were working on during his untimely death. This project is titled "Fin" (The End).......

I want to respond to this call for artists. I have never received a more profound call to make my art. And it is my prayer that you can help me get to Mozambique. We've started a collection on Fundable to raise $1,700. Fundable requires a community effort - we must raise all the funds in 25 days. Please view our Fundable (click here). Your donation of $10 or more will pay for international travel expenses. A special project DVD is our gift to you for donating.

With many, many thanks for your help.......

Makeda Thomas
Artistic Director
Makeda Thomas/Roots & Wings Movement
info@makedathomas.org
Website
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