NEHANDA
Past Dates
| Dates | Location |
|---|---|
Jun 10, 2023 |
Lincoln Center, New York, NY, USA |
May 26 - May 28, 2023 |
Festival TransAmériques, Montreal, Canada |
May 17 - May 21, 2023 |
Arts Emerson, Boston, MA, USA |
Mar 24 - Mar 25, 2023 |
Legs Festival, Charlesroi Danse, Brussels, Belgium |
Nov 05 - Nov 08, 2022 |
Festival D'Automne, Paris, France |
Sep 23, 2022 |
Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield, CT, USA |
May 13, 2022 |
Cornerstone Arts Center, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO, USA Springs, CO, USA |
May 07 - May 08, 2022 |
Under Construction Festival, Pina Bausch Zentrum, Wuppertal, Germany |
Mar 19 - Mar 20, 2022 |
ICA Live Arts Festival, Cape Town, South Africa |
Oct 22 - Oct 23, 2021 |
Spielart Festival, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany |
Oct 01 - Oct 02, 2021 |
AfroVibes Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Sep 18, 2021 |
Callies, Berlin, Germany |
Sep 12, 2021 |
Short Theater Festival, Rome, Italy |
Jun 26, 2021 |
River to River Festival, New York, NY, USA |
Jun 09, 2021 |
Lincoln Center, New York, NY, USA |
“Nehanda was never less than thrilling”
– NJ Arts
“A musical theater work that defies genre… a long suite played, sung, and shouted with an anti-colonial character. “
– Il Manifesto
protest,
legal gathering,
world making.
1890, Cecil John Rhodes, then Prime Minister of Cape Colonies, advanced the Union Jack past the Limpopo River, making way for further industrial development and encouraging colonialism and immigration. Three years later, these encounters resulted in conflicts with the Ndebele people residing in modern-day Zimbabwe. Again in 1896, led by the Shona, Africans took up arms against these European invaders. It took 94 years to finally overthrow the British; however, the work that began in 1896 continues today.
NEHANDA is a juridical opera, taking up questions of jurisprudence in defense of the native freedom fighters murdered by the British South Africa Company ( BSAC ) on behalf of the British EMPIRE and QUEEN Victoria in 1898. nora chipaumire‘s sonic libretto uses the case law “Regina v NIANDA, 1896“ as an introduction into the confusing and conflicted world of Shona spirituality, politics, power, and methodologies of anti-colonial resistance.
NEHANDA is performed in the languages of all its participants (Shona, English, Ndebele, Ewe, Afrikaans, Kriolu… among others )
Duration 70 – 330 MINUTES (to be performed as one or more episodes across one or multiple evenings)
Year of Production 2021 – 2022
Years Performed 2021 – 2023
Premiere Date September 2022
Premiere Venue Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield, CT, US
Premiere Date Radio Opera March 15 -30, 2021
Premiere Venue Radio Opera La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain / Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium (Broadcast)
nora chipaumire, creative direction & performance / Tatenda Chabarwa, performance / Jonathan Kudakwashe Daniel, performance / David Gagliardi, performance / McIntosh “SoKo” Jerahuni, performance / Fatima Katiji, performance / Mamoudou Konate, performance / Othnell “Mangoma” Moyo, performance / Lucia Palmieri, Performance / Mohamed Yousry Fathy “Shika” Saleh, performance / Kei Leon Soares-Cobb, performance / tyroneisaacstuart, performance / Peter van Heerden, performance / Shamar Wayne Watt, performance / Gilbert Zvamaida, performance / Jonathan Daniel, performance / Tom Jules Samie, performance / Corey Baker, performance / Sylvestre Akakpo Adzaku, performance & Production Assistance / Vusumuzi Moyo, Sound Engineer / Kwamina Biney, Sound Assistance / Heidi Eckwall, Technical and Production Management / Serena Wong, Technical and Production Assistance / Leonie Wichmann, Company Management / Alexandre Lemieux, Project Manager / Astrid Rostaing, Project Management / Mirna Matosic, Project Management / Svenja Wichmann, Associate Management / ArKtype – Thomas O. Kriegsmann, Tour Production & Booking
commissioned by
Quick Center for the Arts – Fairfield University
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council / Extended Life Dance Development program
PEAK Performances at Montclair State University
Komische Oper Berlin
With the support of
The Mellon Foundation
New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project
New York State Council on the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
Residency (Development)
PACT Zollverein (Essen)
Quick Center for the Arts – Fairfield University
CSC Centro per la Scena Contemporanea (Bassano del Grappa)
Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO
Callies, Berlin
