As part of the cultural Diversity festivities which were jointly organised with the United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) office in Doha, the Cultural Village Foundation – Katara will soon host a cultural experience from Africa at the Katara esplanade today and tomorrow.
In Katara’s latest presentation of global culture, the Nairobi National Dance Ensemble will visit Doha to present a performance to the visitors of Katara under the lights of the coastline.
Hailing from the group’s namesake locale of Nairobi, Kenya, The Nairobi National Dance Ensemble consists of more than 25 male and female dancers and musicians.
The performers collectively present authentic depictions of Kenyan culture with use of song, dance, percussion and a number of additional elements which are central to Nairobi, “The City in the Sun”.
The Nairobi National Dance Ensemble has aims of spreading culture with its global performances. It aims to educate, preserve and recollect the richness of Kenya’s national heritage through music and dance. Kenya’s cultural diversity is rich, based on the presence of more than 40 distinct tribal ethnicities across the vast nation. The Nairobi National Dance Ensemble has weaved the majority of these tribal cultures into its performance.
Included are the Kikuyu, Kamba, Embu, Meru, Luhya, Luo, Kisii, Maasai, Kalenjin, Giriama and Digo tribes which represent regions from all corners of Kenya. Each tribal representation brings an assortment of instruments such as handmade tin drums, Ohangala, Isukuti and Ngotha drums, Kitingisho shakers, Chivoti flutes, Orutu traditional violins and the Nyatiti, an eight-string instrument.
Katara presents yet another international destination for the Ensemble’s far reaching international tour. In addition to touring Africa and a number of locations across Kenya, The Nairobi National Dance Ensemble has also performed at festivals in Spain, France and Portugal. The Ensemble’s visit to Qatar has been facilitated by Katara in collaboration with Unesco in line with more than a dozen performances from various countries around the world during the first half of 2016.
Six Qatari artists’ works to go on show
The Visual Arts Centre of the Ministry of Culture and Sports will organise the annual exhibition of 6 artists from Qatar at the centre’s gallery in the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara). Director of the Centre Hanadi al-Darwish said the exhibition is held annually to showcase the Qatari skills and innovations in various aspects of art through focussing on the new experiences of the participating artists, and will also introduce new Qatari names to join the Qatari art scene.
Al-Darwish said that artists Issa al-Mulla, Mubarak al-Malik, Sheikha Eid al-Thani, Moudhi al-Hajri, Muna Bujassoum and Hayfa’a al-Sada will take part in the exhibition.
