by nora chipaumire
„Defiantly charismatic, the Zimbabwean-born choreographer nora chipaumire has long been a kind of rock star of dance.”
The New Yorker
Paintings, sculptures, sounds, dance - choreographer nora chipaumire draws on all these forms of expression to capture the vibrant atmosphere of shebeens, the underground bars found in southern Africa's communities. In Zimbabwe, the artist’s birthplace, a shebeen is an informal bar run from a private home. It's a place where, during times of political oppression, people could gather away from the white-dominated world to share ideas and organise resistance. The title
Dambudzo means “trouble” or “unrest” in Shona, the artist’s native language, and also alludes to the work of Zimbabwean poet Dambudzo Marechera (1952-1987).
Chipaumire was born in 1965 and raised by a single mother in what was then Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. She describes herself as "a product of colonial education for black native Africans - known as group B schooling". Her childhood and later her artistic practice, were strongly influenced by the period of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle, which ultimately led to independence from British colonial rule. The artist went on to study dance in Africa, Cuba and Jamaica, and is now based between Berlin, New York and Harare.
Dambudzo was developed largely during her residency at
Callie’s in Berlin.
The live installation and performance intentionally defies classification within traditional Western art forms.
Dambudzo challenges colonial legacies and invites the audience to lose themselves in the rhythm.
Back
