The dancers shake their hips, kicking to the rhythm of the old “caterpillar dance”, generally interpreted in the south where the insects are gathered for food.
Three times a week, the national ballet repeats the traditional dances of the many ethnic groups constituting the Central African Republic (CAR).
“The creations they ask for us are based on the particularities of each ethnic. I am Banda and I must suggest dance Stage from the Banda ethnic group, “said Sidoane Kolema, 43.
They aim to preserve the heritage car, a mosaic of ethnic groups which is marked by decades of conflict and instability And is one of the poorest countries in the world.
Behind the scenes, the Intelligentsia Oualou, 26, began to sing in Gbanu, the language from its native southwest region of omomella-M'Poko.
At the jingle of the bells and the rhythmic noise of the drum and the balafon similar to an Xylophone, the rotating silhouettes of the other dancers quickly appeared through the dilapidated stadium, installed on waste in the capital Bangui.
“All my loved ones are artists and I dreamed of being also an artist,” said Oualou.
It is one of the 62 dancers of the national artistic ensemble, created by the president of the car Faustin Archangel Touadera in 2021.
“The promotion of our cultures means going to the hinterland to find the different dance stages of the Central African Republic in order to create a diversified spectacle,” said the national choreographer of the Ludovic Mboumolomako Ballet, 55.
He spent three weeks living among the pygmies in their ancestral forests in the south in order to enrich his choreography with their dances, songs and lifestyles.
'Gathered us'
The National Ballet Archires the movements, the sounds and the rites which were the brand brand of the traditional village communities to preserve them “for future generations,” said Culture Minister Ngola Ramadan.
“The objective is to collect, preserve and pass,” she added.
The company is often called upon to carry out ancestral dances in public during political rallies, inaugurations and official ceremonies.
In front of officials or at festivals, they dance in Raffia skirts costumes garnished with pearl belts and wax printing patterns.
“We have to raise awareness of young people … By dancing the different dances of our different ethnic groups in front of everyone. Tomorrow, if we are no longer there, it will be up to them to take over,” said Kolema.
The dancers were even recently integrated into the public service, as well as the actors and musicians who also belong to the national artistic whole.
One of the advantages is that the dancers “do not have a subsidy, but a salary,” said the minister.
The national director of the ballet, Isaiah Gonissere, admitted that he was above the moon during development as “it was our most urgent wish”.
Kevin Bemon, 44, said that he had been able to put his old “difficult” dancing life in the alarm clock behind him thanks to the monthly salary of 76,000 CFA francs ($ 124, € 115) – a little more than double the minimum wage in the car.
THE ballet The company is now preparing for its show during the Universal Exhibition of the World Exhibition in Osaka, Japanwhich begins this month.
For a decade until 2013, the car was embraced by civil wars and inter -municipal conflicts and although violence has lost intensity since 2018, tensions have persisted.
“Traditional dance brought us together. After the recent wars, different ethnic groups were divided. Thanks to dance, we have become children of the same family,” said Oualou.
(France 24 with AFP)
