Kaupapa of Ihuoma Dance
inter-cultural liaison | creative development | self-empowerment
IHUOMA Dance is a platform for negotiating with African dance lineages in Aotearoa. Negotiation signifies to witness, learn, or perform (formal and informal) and thus foster a relationship with the energy, and draw out your own creativity, improvisation, negotiation, and play to navigate your pathway in life. Underpinning IHUOMA Dance is an ongoing exploration of the masculine composite of the Yoruba (Nigeria, Cuba, Brazil) life force, Àṣẹ, which governs the negotiation of life pathways, improvisation and play; and the feminine composite of expansive power of creativity, Àjẹ́.
We explore dances and their lineages from specific West African contexts (namely Guinea and Senegal), Cuba and Brazil. As part of our culturally responsive pedagogy, we draw from wisdom and instruction passed on by accredited indigenous and diaspora dancers, dance teachers and musicians, the cultural pedagogies and social contexts within which these dances are learnt and practiced, as well as by the place where we are practicing them - Aotearoa.
We foster environmental thinking through African somatic dance practices, and embed our dance practice with pēpeha, an acknowledgement of both our own and the dance's lineage and links to the natural and social worlds. In addition, we embrace the Māori learning philosophy of Ako, or the reciprocal learning and teaching between students and teachers. African Dance is a powerful platform to foster manaakitanga - uplifting the mana of each other as well as those from the living culture itself where these dances originate. We believe that it is particularly important for those with ancestral ties to participate in this aspect of African culture because in the words of Pearl Primus, renowned African American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist:
"Dance is the soul of Africa. It is the foundation of all of the arts
and it weaves a tale about the daily lives of people".
We believe it is also important for descendants of European colonisers, whether of English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, or Dutch descent, to critically engage with African dance perspectives, and particularly to participate in uplifting their mana and to actively acknowledge the pēpeha, the lineage, of much of today's global music and dance industries.
With its strength in processing generational trauma, as well as building community cohesion, African Dance is a wonderful platform through which to heal, and this circle is open to all - whether you are a person with ancestral ties to Africa, a dance practitioner, or a person that is simply interested in "making the beat visible" (DeFrantz, 2004).