Looking to Lukodi: A Performance by Tuzina

Mark your calendars for an evening of contemporary dance by Tuzina and other dancers from The Ailey School!

What: A diverse program of eight pieces including works by Lauren Evans, Brionna Edmundson, Monica Woods, Claudia Zakrzewski, and KateAshley Clarke

When: Saturday, February 11th at 7:30 pm

Where: 12th Floor Business Lounge, Fordham University, Lowenstein Building, 113 W. 60th Street (One block away from Columbus Circle and the 1, A, C, B, D trains)

There is no admission fee. However, we invite you to contribute a tax-deductible donation. Complimentary refreshments will be provided.

Why Dance?

With 70% of the population of Uganda living below the poverty line according to the Northern Uganda Baseline Survey, one might reasonably wonder whether dance is necessary or even beneficial to their communities at this point. When basic needs of the people of these communities remain unmet, what is the point of collaborating in dance classes and performances with them?

1) Dance uplifts the spirit and expresses the soul
The health and well-being of an individual reaches much deeper than merely his or her physical state. His emotional, psychological, and spiritual states are equally important. In post-conflict areas such as Northern Uganda in which much of the population has witnessed or experienced horrific violence, it becomes even more valuable to promote the recovery and renewal of one's mental and emotional states. Dance is the joyous and freeing movement of the body in response these states. It can be used to release pent-up emotions, express one's mood, or explore how one intrinsically responds to music or other movement.

2) Dance is a vehicle around which communities internationally are willing to mobilize
The artistic community is a well-connected and passionate group of individuals seeking to promote creativity in all of its forms. Tuzina wants to harness the energy of this far-reaching community and channel it toward promoting social justice on behalf of those affected by the war in Northern Uganda.

3) Dance tells a story

Dance, as a powerful art form, can be used to explain a situation or memory in a distinct and moving way. It provides a platform through which individuals may share his or her personal story across cultural lines, an act which is very empowering for those who have suffered silently in the past. Dance is a tool of remembrance, for story-telling repertoire may be performed for years to come.

4) Dance allows for personal connection and communication

Dancing requires time and dedication in order to learn the movement and progress in one's technique. It therefore necessitates conversation with and exploration by teachers, students, and fellow dancers. Learning movement is a process of technical and artistic growth, and often it simultaneously brings about personal growth. When the class or rehearsal is conducted in a positive and nurturing way, dance has the potential to deepen the bonds of those taking part and bring them to a clearer sense of who they are in connection with those around them.

5) Dance celebrates culture

Dance reflects the beliefs and values of the culture it represents. In a world so often divided along cultural lines, dance confronts these differences by celebrating rather than lamenting them. It is often the case that one style of dance has been highly influenced by another style that was developed in a culture very different from one's own. Yet this is an aspect of beauty in the dance world because it displays the correlation of its progression through communities across the globe for generations. On a personal level, dance becomes an expression of national identity and a celebration of a community's history.

The Team

As I watched the ball drop on TV on New Year's Eve to ring in 2012, I could not contain my excitement as I realized that this year I will finally experience East Africa in person! Even more incredible is the realization that after eight years of dreaming of using dance to meet the needs of child soldiers and orphans in Uganda, God is bringing this vision to fruition with an extraordinary network of support.

My parents were not shocked or incredulous when I told them of my desire to begin Tuzina this past summer. Instead, they have supported me completely, sharing their wisdom and advice, sending me thoughtful texts, praying for me, and encouraging me to continue dreaming big. I'm so grateful to them for standing behind me every step of the way.

Words cannot express my gratitude toward Kathy Mandsager, Intern Coordinator at ChildVoice International. She did not treat my proposition lightly but has approached our group as an official ChildVoice team. She is working out all of the logistical details for our trip and continues to amaze me with her willingness to support Tuzina's vision.

Despite his heavy schedule including two full-time jobs, my brother Trevor has designed an absolutely gorgeous website and logo for us (scheduled to launch January 15th). His generosity and support bring tears to my eyes.

As for the team itself, I am beyond honored to be working with such talented and dedicated girls! First Monica, with her generous heart and outgoing personality; next Virginia, with her compassionate and brave spirit; Kassandra, who thinks outside of the box and whose dreams are not limited; Janelle, whose quiet serenity comforts those around her; and finally Averi, with her huge creativity and willingness to go beyond her comfort zone. Each of them adds an indispensable quality to the group, and each one will be able to offer distinct styles of support when working with the women and children of Lukodi and the surrounding areas. I'm blessed to already see the unity of the group as we have been brainstorming and rehearsing.

Amazing opportunities are ahead for Tuzina...stay tuned!

ChildVoice International, Our Partner

Exciting news! ChildVoice International, an organization devoted to building a sustainable village of refuge and care for Uganda's child victims of war, has officially agreed to partner with Tuzina for the duration of its stay in Uganda! We'll be staying at their Lukome Centre, which is located north of Gulu. We'll be collaborating specifically with child mothers and their young children, as well as going into schools and other community establishments to give dance classes. ChildVoice is a beautifully holistic organization, and I really cannot describe how blessed I feel to be able to join them in furthering their goals.

For more information, please visit:

http://childvoiceintl.org/

Art as Advocacy

This weekend I've been in Washington DC along with a couple hundred other students and social activists participating in an action summit sponsored by the organization United to End Genocide. The passion and energy behind the students' activism was tangibly felt as soon as I entered the ballroom in which the main meetings of the conference were held: students sporting Save Darfur and STAND t-shirts, students nodding emphatically in agreement with the speakers' words, students taking advantage of networking opportunities both with each other and with the Sudanese diaspora. It was exhilarating to be a part of the program, to join with young adults in learning from victims themselves about the current situations in Sudan, Libya, Syria, the Congo, and Burma. We learned what we can do not only to raise awareness about these conflicts but also to ensure that the U.S. reacts in a way that is neither acting intrusively nor choosing to remain silent but instead seeks to give the victims the support they need to counteract the atrocities which regimes such as Omar al-Bashir's inflict upon them. It is rare that we recognize atrocities such as these using the term "genocide" when they are occurring--it is only afterward that we recognize genocides for what they are. President Clinton's greatest regret when he left the Oval Office was that he did not do more to prevent the genocide that occurred in Rwanda during his presidency. As Dr. Martin Luther King said, "We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today." I was honored to be part of a group that was willing to recognize the situations in these countries as genocidal in their nature and is committed to actively working to end them.

This weekend I had an important realization: that awareness of these issues is imperative not only in the international community but also in the surrounding areas of the conflicts and by those in post-conflict zones. It is not enough for outsiders to understand the depth of the atrocities; the countries and communities nearby but not involved in the conflict ought to understand it as well because this is essential in ensuring that they do not mistakenly aid or abet the perpetrators of the crimes (silence/inaction itself being a form of abetting). One of the aims of Tuzina is to support the victims of genocide, particularly children, by using dance as a tool of solidarity, expression, and remembrance in bringing healing to their communities. Whether the atrocities are committed by corrupt governments, rebel armies, or the invasive thief called poverty, Tuzina believes that the victims of these assaults can utilize dance to tell their stories so that both the international community and their regional communities might sooner recognize the vicious nature of the wrongs against them and respond. As Rachel Steinhardt said this weekend (in words very similar to those used by filmmaker Jen Marlowe the day before), "Words and statistics speak to our minds; art speaks to our souls...It is our responsibility to keep these stories alive." Dance has the possibility of becoming a tradition through which past conflicts are remembered and current ones are brought to broader attention. It can be used by the older members of the community to remind their children of past conflict and warn them against following in the same pattern. It can be used as a conversation-starter so that audiences can confront the issues and discuss how to respond. Tuzina hopes to be a vehicle through which this tradition is begun.

What is Tuzina?

Goal:
To establish a personal connection with a war-affected community of children in Uganda in order to understand their culture, help them to express themselves and work through the trauma which they have experienced, and raise awareness here in the US about the way in which armed conflicts affect their lives.

Description:
Tuzina is a group of five dancers and a filmmaker who plan to travel to Uganda during June 2012 in order to collaborate in dance classes and performances with children who have experienced war-related trauma. During our two and a half week trip, we will teach dance classes daily and will teach the children pieces which they will later perform for the rest of their community. Our dance classes and choreography will be rooted in modern technique, but we will emphasize its use in providing the children with an outlet for the emotions they have experienced, particularly in response to trauma. Creative improvisation dance classes will give children the opportunity to develop their personal style of movement in order to give better expression to these emotions as well. We would like to take East African dance classes from them in return. At the end of each week, Tuzina and the children will give a collaborative performance for the community (two to four performances total). Tuzina will perform pieces which we have choreographed and rehearsed beforehand intermixed with the pieces the children have learned during our time there.

Benefits for the Community:
We hope first and foremost to inspire the children of the community to work through the traumatic events they have experienced and to celebrate their culture. Tuzina believes that each child has an important personal story to tell, and we want to enable them to tell it using the universal language of dance. We also want to raise awareness about the issues that impact these kids’ lives on a day-to-day basis, such as the war against the Lord’s Resistance Army. We will therefore document the work we do with the children and create a student film emphasizing what we learned about these conflicts. When we return to the U.S., we will hold screenings of the film. We will also choreograph and perform works based upon our interaction with the children as well as the issues affecting them.

Long-term Goal:
Tuzina is founded upon the idea that we do not know the best method of dancing. Instead, we hope to learn from the children what kind of dance springs up intuitively into their bodies and reflects their cultural values. Keeping this in mind, we plan to develop a connection with the community in order to establish a lasting arts exchange. This trip will be the first step of a long-term goal of beginning one or more arts schools in East Africa. Over the coming years, Tuzina will periodically return to the community in order to continue the work it has begun there. As soon as resources and artists are available, we will establish an arts school with the intention of empowering children affected by social and political conflicts to express themselves, remember their history, and celebrate their culture.