IT’S FRIDAY!!!!

It was with this ‘jumpy shout’ conjuring up happiness and excitement at the beginning of the weekend that my favourite radio station in Botswana, Gabz fm, started its programmes on Fridays, while suggesting interesting things to do in the weekend: It’s Friday!!!! How I miss it sometimes…

One thing that particularly springs to mind at the weekend is dance: in a club, at home, wherever! It’s not just about happiness and excitement, it also acts therapeutically to cleanse body, mind and soul of all impurities accumulated during the week.

When thinking about dance, I recall my sparse dabbles at “structured” ways of doing this thing that always comes to me naturally, impulsively and instinctively since I was born, which is not to mean that my dance is not “naturally structured” by any sound I move to…

One such instance was in the early 80s in Luanda at a weekly “jazz dance” class given by the Swedish UN representative’s wife in her need to use her idle time. Another, also for “jazz dance”, was in the early 90s in Lisbon, at a formal dance company, where I had as teachers a female dancer/choreographer of French-Algerian origin and a Russian male former professional classical dancer, who had been forced out of the big stages and spotlights by a permanent knee injury. In both cases, I felt, with very rare exceptions, somewhat uncomfortable, due to being constrained to "perform" moves in ways that didn’t come naturally to my mind or to my body, added to the rigidity and extreme competitiveness characteristics of such environments…

Then, some 8 years ago, I attended a series of special African dance classes at the Africa Centre in London, given by one of the main female dancers/choreographers from Ghana. The music was played by African drummers from West Africa, including Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon, and the classes were attended by people of all races, ages and nationalities… it was my best “structured” dance experience so far! Unfortunately, it was cut short by the decision of its directors at the time to stop all “noisy” activities at the Centre (because the dance classes, which were accompanied by drums, were followed by African drum classes…), arguing that they interfered with the more “serious” events going on in there, such as conferences, workshops, roundtables and the like… Such a shame!

Anyway, I didn’t feel “lost in dance” because of that, since I always carry my natural dance and my music, as an intrinsic part of my life, everywhere I go…

Did I say anything about "art"?


I don’t know if the African drum’s classes were ever retaken at the Africa Centre, but one thing is for sure: you can catch them pretty much anywhere in London these days. They’ve joined activities such as yoga, pottery, etc. in the common menu of healthy things to do in your leisure time!

You can find them at such places as the Drum Jam or the evocatively named Nzinga Dance.

(All pictures © Nzinga Dance™)

It was with this ‘jumpy shout’ conjuring up happiness and excitement at the beginning of the weekend that my favourite radio station in Botswana, Gabz fm, started its programmes on Fridays, while suggesting interesting things to do in the weekend: It’s Friday!!!! How I miss it sometimes…

One thing that particularly springs to mind at the weekend is dance: in a club, at home, wherever! It’s not just about happiness and excitement, it also acts therapeutically to cleanse body, mind and soul of all impurities accumulated during the week.

When thinking about dance, I recall my sparse dabbles at “structured” ways of doing this thing that always comes to me naturally, impulsively and instinctively since I was born, which is not to mean that my dance is not “naturally structured” by any sound I move to…

One such instance was in the early 80s in Luanda at a weekly “jazz dance” class given by the Swedish UN representative’s wife in her need to use her idle time. Another, also for “jazz dance”, was in the early 90s in Lisbon, at a formal dance company, where I had as teachers a female dancer/choreographer of French-Algerian origin and a Russian male former professional classical dancer, who had been forced out of the big stages and spotlights by a permanent knee injury. In both cases, I felt, with very rare exceptions, somewhat uncomfortable, due to being constrained to "perform" moves in ways that didn’t come naturally to my mind or to my body, added to the rigidity and extreme competitiveness characteristics of such environments…

Then, some 8 years ago, I attended a series of special African dance classes at the Africa Centre in London, given by one of the main female dancers/choreographers from Ghana. The music was played by African drummers from West Africa, including Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon, and the classes were attended by people of all races, ages and nationalities… it was my best “structured” dance experience so far! Unfortunately, it was cut short by the decision of its directors at the time to stop all “noisy” activities at the Centre (because the dance classes, which were accompanied by drums, were followed by African drum classes…), arguing that they interfered with the more “serious” events going on in there, such as conferences, workshops, roundtables and the like… Such a shame!

Anyway, I didn’t feel “lost in dance” because of that, since I always carry my natural dance and my music, as an intrinsic part of my life, everywhere I go…

Did I say anything about "art"?


I don’t know if the African drum’s classes were ever retaken at the Africa Centre, but one thing is for sure: you can catch them pretty much anywhere in London these days. They’ve joined activities such as yoga, pottery, etc. in the common menu of healthy things to do in your leisure time!

You can find them at such places as the Drum Jam or the evocatively named Nzinga Dance.

(All pictures © Nzinga Dance™)