I am an ORANGE MOON, I reflect the light...

Julia Hehlke, Vivienne Lütteken, Key Drichiru und Lilian Nabagalla, four independent and strong women from two different culture backgrounds are connected through two themes: the universal power of womanhood and the universal language of dance.
The dance performance „I am an ORANGE MOON, I reflect the light“ collects their strengths and brings out the topic of female power. At the same time, the cultural exchange between two major cities (Kampala and Hamburg) is going to be strengthened.

Schedule & Timetable of the whole project:

• Research stay and rehearsal time in Uganda ((26.02.2018- 17.03.2018)
• First Performance (work-in-progress-showing) in Kampala in cooperation with the Goethe Zentrum Kampala (17.03.2018)
• 4 weeks of production and rehearsal time in Hamburg (September/October 2018)
• 5 Performances in Hamburg with „Monsun Theater“ (starting from October 2018)

Social, political and artistic engagement of the Dance Performance in Uganda:

• panel discussion / ART FORUM in cooperation with the Goethe Zentrum Kampala with the topic „Perspectives of Female Dancers in East Africa“
• dance workshop with girls and women in cooperation with Breakdance Project Uganda
• movement workshop with women from KDI - Kampala Disabled Initiatives
• exchange meetings with „Femrite“ (The Uganda Women Writers Association) and with „Femme Electronic“ (Femme Electronic is a platform for female DJs and electronic music producers in East Africa)

(for the continuation of the project in Hamburg we are planning a couple of other events, workshops, panel discussion and networking events)

The eternal cycle of the eight phases of the moon, their energies, themes and influences on us, together with a light- and video installation are building the frame of our choreography.

Through our dance performance we are entering a dialogue between different cultures. We bring elements of the afropop culture in a stage setting and at the same time we are are strengthening the artistic exchange between two major cities: Hamburg and Kampala.

We are going to work together with the sound artist and music producer Faizal Mostrixx and the singer-songwriter Amari Jackie Akello. Both of them are well known and connected in the ugandan art scene. Through their background of dance and performance art, they are complementing our dance performance perfectly.

We, as female artists, would love to connect the vibrant and fresh afro vibe with the dance scene in Hamburg. It is time to connect this two cultures and to enjoy the fruitful outcoming of the collaboration between contemporary dance and afro urban dances.

At the same time we want to reflect and to discuss different roles of women in society, their power and strengths and their influence on the dance scene.
We (Julia, Vivienne, Key and Lilian) met through dance and we connected because of our values, believes and our positiv mindset. It is the correlation of dance and a self-confident image and attitude of women which are driving us.

With our first dance performance together as a female collective we want to give new incentives. We want to inspire people to go for what they want to do in life, to inspire young female dancers to come up with their own production and we want to show the world how we can set the stage on fire…;)

Not only in Africa, but all over the world it is tim to realize: „Africa is the Future“. The Afro music, dance and art scene is vibrating and expanding and inspiring a lot of people from different cultures. One can even talk about the afropop culture phenomenon.
Dance styles like Afrohouse, Azonto, Danchall, Kuduro, Afropop are nowadays found in most dance studios and people are thirsty for more.
The „new“ afropop culture has a lot to give, especially for the dance scene in Hamburg. It is time to get rid of stereotype images of Africa. It is time to embrace the vibrant, lively and dynamic afro vibe in its fullest.

The practices of art, the practices of dance differ a lot in Kampala and Hamburg. In Kampala, every day life and dancing are interwoven and one is influencing the other. Dance is playing a huge role in the ugandan culture and its happening almost everywhere and at any time. It is not like in Germany, where dancing is often limited to dance studios or clubs and where people are looking strange at you when you start dancing while waiting for the train.
In Kampala you can get the feeling that the whole city is dancing. People DANCE, no matter where and when: at the boutique next door, at the barber shop, while walking on the streets, at cultural events like weddings, baptisms, birthdays etc., or even at funerals: people DANCE.

With your support we are going to collect this powerful energy of dance as a lifestyle and dance as a way of expression and we are going to bringt it into a theater setting through dance, live music and video installations.

With a successful funding we are going to be able to cover up the costs for our dance performance in Uganda, and with it the first part of our several months ongoing project.

• rent for rehearsal space
• technical equipment
• artists fees (4 dancers, 1 musician, 1 singer, 1 light-and video-artist)
• PR costs
• insurances
• travel expenses and accommodation
• incurred costs of the rewards

We already applied for government subsidies and different fundings to be able to also stage our dance performance in October 2018 in Hamburg. We hope to get a positive feedback, because the costs to bring the dance performance to Hamburg are much higher than staging the performance in Uganda.