Haba na Haba

African performing arts group visits UCU

Haba na Haba's visit to campus did not go unnoticed. On Tuesday, they performed before a full auditorium. They performed a play about politics, and how you should not always take politicians' claims at face value. Interacting with the audience they got people to respond to the situations as they were performed, and were invited to comment on what they saw.

On Wednesday the group went to Amsterdam, to witness music teacher Susanne van Els' performance in the concert hall. After a tour around our nation's capital they worked together with Rich Hinam's performing arts class.

The result of this collaboration was shown on Thursday. Before a crowd of students, staff and teachers Haba na Haba performed a few sketches with UC students. These were intermitted by musical pieces under guidance of Susanne van Els. As Kenyan tradition does not distinguish between dance, theater or singing, there was an interesting contrast between our and their way of performing. The evening ended with a thank you ritual that performers and audience took part in. Rich Hinam, finally, expressed the wish to establish a long lasting relationship with our African visitors.

Photography: Marieke van Nuenen