Dance Studies Department delivers workshop in Ethiopia

Dr Paula Guzzanti and Prof. Vicki Ann Cremona led a group of alumni from the Dance Studies Department of the School of Performing Arts on an artistic exchange of dance practice to Ethiopia. Thanks to the initiative and efforts of the Embassy of Malta in Addis Ababa, the group was able to reach out to thirty dancers from the local community. The project, titled: “From the Dance Practice to online International Presence: A cross-cultural exchange for Ethiopian and Maltese Dance Practitioners” received a Cultural Diplomacy Fund from Malta’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The aim of the project was twofold. Under Dr Guzzanti’s artistic direction, the four alumni: Thea Cunningham, Aspasia Marmaritsaki, Althea Palombi Corlett, and Sarah Sammut provided an intensive three-day training course in contemporary dance to young Ethiopian dancers, coming mostly from hip hop or from traditional dance. The UM alumni facilitated skills in technique, choreography, and dance conditioning. The project culminated in an eight-minute final performance that was shown to an invited public. Dr Guzzanti and Prof. Cremona met different personalities from the University of Addis-Ababa in the Theatre and Music departments, officials from the Ministries of Education and of Foreign Affairs, reputed artists and owners of dance private schools. A three-year programme is currently being drawn up to take this collaboration further.

The project created an opportunity to raise the profile of the School’s alumni, and allowed them to expand their professional abiities on an international level.