Why Afrika Mashariki Dance?
After working in isolation for far too long, several dance institutions joined forces to establish Afrika Mashariki Dance — AMDA.
This initiative celebrates, develops, and promotes contemporary dance artists from the East African region. Collaborating institutions currently include Amizero Dance Kompagnie in Rwanda, Muda Africa in Tanzania, and Batalo East & Soul Xpressions in Uganda.
Through the AMDA website, East African dance artists can connect with one another and access cultural services, thereby broadening their reach globally. The AMDA opportunities page serves as a hub for sharing information about festivals, events, residencies, workshops, masterclasses, and grants available to East Africans.
AMDA PROJECTS
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UNESCO's International Fund for Cultural diversity (IFCD) awarded AMDA a grant for its’ project entitled ‘Strengthening the Contemporary Dance Scene in East Africa’, from 2021-2023.
The funds supported the creation of this website as well as marketing and teacher training workshops for 90 East African dance artists in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
With a special focus on women, the project offered 30 East African women dancers choreographic capacity building and organized an online conference with the AMDA network to develop policies to promote gender equality on dance platforms regionally.
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The Ignite Culture Fund awarded AMDA a grant to develop the capacity of dancers and dance choreographers as well as improve dance rehearsal and performance spaces in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
The beneficiaries developed dance productions which toured East African dance spaces. The productions were filmed for regional and international audiences in 2023 and 2024.
