UPCOMING EVENTS

February 14, 15, 16, 2008

Kariamu & Company:Traditions Homeseason Concert

June 5-8, 2008

2008 Umfundalai African Dance Intensive Workshop Series

Click on links for Up-to-Date Details

Kariamu Welsh created the Umfundalai African Dance technique in 1970 out of a quest for a functional and aesthetic method that would mirror some of her personal experiences, as well as a collective ethos and history that would reflect her African and African American heritage. Umfundalai means "essence" or "essential" in Kiswahili. The technique is a Pan-African dance technique in that it draws from dance styles and movements from different African and African disasporan cultures. The technique espouses a holistic view of the body and the arts including theater, music, sound, song, masquerade, and vocalization. The Umfundalai technique emerges from a world view in which the universe is perceived as a harmonious entity in which life force exists in all things including the known and the unseen.

The Umfundalai technique stands on the shoulders of the Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus techniques, although it has taken a different path. Umfundalai is an "open-ended," it continues to expand and change, often with the input of advanced dancers and students. Choreographers have expanded their repertoire based on the Umfundalai technique. Some of these include members of Kariamu & Company, the Seventh Principle Performance Company, Persona Zenobia, the Berry & Nance Dance Project and the African American Dance Ensemble.