Celebrating Dance Heritage and understanding Body Archives

This project excavates deep into the heritage, traditions, languages, and tribes of Uganda,
focusing its spotlight on the philosophical way in which our ancestors documented generational
history. this workshop aims to foster a better awareness and appreciation of who we are as
individuals and collective identities as human beings.
"The Forgotten Ones," continues to shed light on the significance of dance within the cultural
context and explore the reasons behind the deprivation (lack) of younger generations in the
dance scene today, as they often find themselves lost in space.
Dance plays a fundamental role in African culture, extending far beyond entertainment. It
serves as a powerful medium of preserve generational history and storytelling, dance in Africa
is a way of life. transferring of emotions, the celebration of rites of passage and unification of
communities.
In Africa, dance is an essential component of our social legacy, representing the rich philosophy
and diverse cultures that have shaped our existence and celebrations that have resonated
across generations. Our cultures are invaluable (extremely useful) treasures that deserve our
steady pride and embrace.
We pose a crucial question: How can we build a valuable future if we destroy the past?
Despite its importance, the project questions the absence of qualified dance schools teaching
both traditional and western, and the subsequent impact on the future of dance in Uganda and
Africa.
Without a strong foundation in embracing our cultures, traditions and languages, aspiring
artists are frequently discouraged and getting lost with their professional career. It is therefore
importance that Africa's younger generations receive the proper education and understand
their lineage.

Led by a disabled artist, this workshop goes beyond movement, embracing bodies in space as a
deeper expression of one's physicality.
Through this transformative experience, we aim to celebrate the uniqueness of each body and
its archival history. exploring individual expression, and the beauty of spiritual essence rooted
in personal heritage and culture. The workshop offers a platform to understand how different bodies, both able and differently gifted, resonate with movement and relate to experience
movement and relate to various spaces.

"The Forgotten Ones" is a powerful call to appreciate body archives and their alignment with
community and belonging. As a disabled artist, it is our responsibility to bring awareness of
embracing who are.


Bio: Joseph Tebandeke is an emerging contemporary dance artist from Uganda. With an interest in physical intervention in common spaces, Joseph explores different bodies, daily objects and space with an emphasis on the the intersection where the concept of being able or disable meet.


The following are links presenting local physical expressions that comes genetically because of our roots celebrations:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hl485sSnyg

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs2AymEdYLY

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjGdQolXiSo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4f4VB2vUKw

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXITWh4B6mQ

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zUNTe4Bdwc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_gLfzR9o_8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6SxajScuus

Finding uniqueness of everyone. Shifting perspective (open research) at Vienna in Dschungel theater
photo by Rainer Berson(A)




Sharing roots experience at Moving into Dance
At South Africa (Research three) at South Africa
photo by Lesego Dihemo






Shifting perspective (open research two)
at Vienna in Dschungel theater
photo by Rainer Berson(A)






Shifting perspective (research three)
At South Africa 
photo by Lesego Dihemo