Traditional Future

dance Immersion presents Kenya’s Fernando Anuang’a in his internationally-renowned contemporary Maasaï dance solo, TRADITIONAL FUTURE – in North America for the first time, January 19 & 20, 2024 at The Theatre Centre! With this work Fernando explores: How do we evolve tradition toward modernity without obliterating its tracks, without betraying one’s roots?

Fernando Anuang’a is an autodidact artist (self-taught dancer/choreographer). He is supported and inspired by Maasaï songs, his ancestral memories, and his community’s vocal rhythmic power for his vocabulary. He is driven by a will to take tradition into the future, and continuously researches ways for Maasaï dance to live fully in this era. While tourists have exploited the image of the Maasaï jump tradition, Fernando’s practice instead infuses this cultural vertical energy with evolving Maasaï undulation gestures. For his third solo, TRADITIONAL FUTURE, he stays loyal to the Moran (Maasaï warrior) tradition as a symbolic root, while finding a deeper energy and more liberating form of self-expression to bring the tradition into the future.

This work is presented as part of dance Immersion‘s 30th Anniversary Season! The performance will be accompanied by an opening night pre-show reception, and artist talks following both performances.