Today, AMA grantee Jeffery Hessney, producer and public relations manager of the contemporary dance company Raiz di Polon, is traveling from Praia (Cape Verde) to Kigali (Rwanda) to meet Wesley Ruzibiza, Amizero Dance Company’s artistic Director and main choreographer and Mutheu Mbondo, coordinator of the United Cultures for Development Network.
The Raiz di Polon dance company of Cape Verde and the Amizero Dance Company (a part of the University Center for Arts and Drama) of Rwanda intend to create and stage a collaborative dance piece which will be performed in Rwanda first and, hopefully, Cape Verde and beyond.
This collaboration between Raiz di Polon and Amizero will represent the first artistic collaboration ever, in any field, between Cape Verde and Rwanda. AMA is looking forward to seeing the results of this collaboration.
During his trip to Rwanda, Jeffrey intends to discuss the format, the foundations and the methodology of the collaborative project, as well as his creative input (text, music). The piece will be choreographed by Mano Preto (Raiz di Polon) and Wesley Ruzibiza (Amizero) and performed by members of both companies.
On his way to Rwanda, Jeffery will stop for several days in Nairobi to discuss Raiz di Polon’s participation in the Fracture Project, which is slated to take place at the Nairobi Gallery in 2013 and whose coordinator, Miriam Syowia Kyambi, has made initial contact, following recommendation by Mutheu Mbondo as well.
Good luck Jeffery!