Selome kifle

Dance and play on social issues held @ Alliance

A dance performance by Wubit Abate and a play titled “The story of Helima” written and directed by Abate Mekuria, was staged at the Alliance Ethio-Française on Thursday, January 6.

Before the event, organized by Mekuria Theatre Studio and Entertainment (MTSE), a local private performing art company, a one-week workshop where Wubit taught Circus Nazareth various dance forms, particularly Jazz techniques and movements, was held.

The workshop featured dance performances blended with Jazz, modern and Afro-Latin, including traditional Ethiopian dance techniques, as well as acrobatic performances by Circus Nazareth.

Also on the schedule was a play titled “The story of Helima” directed and written by Abate Mekuria, chairperson of MTSE. He told Capital that the show was organized to celebrate its new initiative of forming a dance training and production center, which is expected to start its activities by the end of this year.

He pointed out also that the theme of the play is to create awareness in wiping out some of the harmful traditional practices, including early marriage, female genital mutilation and other social taboos.

According to Abate, the play was written and directed based on his research on social issues, which are considered very serious to the society. “Most of our work focus on theater development,” he said, “But for most people, theater is a new trend, and what we are trying to do is use theater as a language to elaborate information in terms of general knowledge and provide information to the community.”

About the Dance Training and Production Center, Abate disclosed that once it is built professional dancers from Ethiopia and teachers from abroad will be invited to teach regular classes and workshops. He said they are presently in discussion with some teachers.

Finally, Abate pointed out that the company has a network and closely works with the East African Theatre Institution (EATI), a theatre network catering for countries in the Eastern zones of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia. The main purpose of EATI is to promote and facilitate the growth of theatre in Eastern Africa.

Wubit has a diploma in Performing Arts from London and she has since developed her interest in dance. Before her studies in London, she attended the Addis Ababa University where she graduated with a degree in Literature and Journalism.  

The Mekuria Theatre Studio and Entertainment formerly known as “Creation of Alternative Methods for Advocacy” had been working with the development oriental artistic methodology for a decade. It is a privately registered performing arts company established in 1998, with the objective to offer information theatre, including productions, tour promotion, international relations, performance skills and training workshops.

It has produced a number of informative and educative plays that help in creating awareness for questionable issues in tandem with local and international partners.     

National Museum to display photos by famous Japanese photographer

The Japanese embassy has organized a two-week photo exhibition titled “Hidden Japan” by renowned Japanese photographer and graphic designer Kijuro Yahagi, from Monday, January 17, at the National Museum (Amist Kilo).

According to the embassy, 85 large monochrome photographs selected from the photographer’s collection taken during his 20,000-kilometers journey throughout Japan will be on show until January 30. Capital learned that the selected photos were taken in 1992.

“When I began taking these photographs I wondered if, by taking a candid look at nature in Japan, I couldn’t also bring the modern face of Japan to life through them. And before I knew it I traveled 20,000 kilometers throughout Japan,” said the photographer.

Yahagi added that the question gradually formed within his mind that he actually observed nature with his own eyes and capture it with photography.

“When we speak of ‘nature’ what do we think the word encompasses, for instance, when people think of Switzerland there is no doubt that the picture we have in mind is of a scene of cows grazing in a green pasture,” he said. “I never gave the matter much thought before I started taking these photographs, but I eventually realized that the scene which we most readily picture in our minds are merely man-made scenes.”

Yahagi stated that through his journey, which is based on the idea “nature”, a number of things became apparent. He said he was surprised to see that no matter how small the mountain or fishing village he came across, there was sure to be a temple, shrine, or statue of the guardian deity of children, whether large or small.

Since April 2003 “Hidden Japan” has been exhibited in a number of countries including Canada, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, UAE, Guinea, Israel, Zambia and Kenya.

The photo exhibition was sponsored by the Japan Foundation. The foundation was established in 1972 as a special legal entity to undertake international cultural exchange and in October 2003, it subsequently became an independent administrative institution.        

Fundraising concert at Juventus

A fundraising Reggae concert by Sydney Solomon and the Imperial Majestic Band organized by Sara Cannizzaro Minders Association was staged at the Juventus Club on Saturday, January 15.

All the proceeds from the event, according to the organizers, will be used to establish two training departments in the association: the Ethiopian food preparation, and sewing and embroidery.

Nicola Masolini, invited guest musician and co-founder of Trend Bar and Restaurant, told Capital that this Reggae concert is the only one before the celebration of the 60th Birthday anniversary of the late Bob Marley slated for February.

He disclosed that this is the second time he has organized a concert to raise money for the Sara Cannizzaro Minders Association; the first was about a year ago where he organized a concert in Italy. “I organized a concert in the past to inform the Italian people about the association and to raise money and in that particular event 3,000 people attended,” he said.

Explaining to Capital how he met Sydney Solomon and the group, Nicola said he had met them at the Safari Lodge located in Nazareth where they performed as an in-house band, adding that together with Solomon and the Imperial Majestic Band they performed a live concert at the lodge in September 2004.

Sara Cannizzaro Minders Association is s humanitarian organization established by the family of the late Sara Cannizzaro, to commemorate her short life. The association provides daycare services for infants between the ages of 3 and 6, as well as recreation, entertainment and support services, and medical health care. 

Oprah’s visits to be aired on mbc 2

Oprah Winfrey’s recent visit to Ethiopia to open a training center at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital will be aired on mbc 2, one of the many free channels on the Arab sat, on Wednesday, January 20, sources told Capital.

The internationally renowned American talk show host arrived Ethiopia late in the morning of Sunday, December 12, for a one-day visit to commission the training center that was named after her.

The center, which was constructed with 1.2 million birr on a land donated by the Addis Ababa City Government, was built after an episode on the Oprah Winfrey Show in January 2004, devoted to the work of Dr Chatrin Hamlin, executive director of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, and raised US$450,000 for the hospital.

Since the opening of the hospital, Dr Hamlin has helped more than 25,000 patients suffering from fistula complications.

Oprah Winfrey was named one of the 100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century by Time magazine. She also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academic of Television Arts and Sciences.

Female painter exhibits works @ Hilton Addis

An art exhibition by a female painter, Elleni Kebede, was staged at the Hilton Addis for three consecutive days beginning Sunday, January 2.

Elleni displayed 43 of her paintings all having different subject areas but done with realistic technique, which she says helps her to fully capture the reality or images hidden in her mind.

“I like realistic technique for the reason that it expresses the real world,” she said. “The painter recaptures what he or she has seen on canvas and any viewer can understand or tell what the objects or portraits are.”

Elleni is a graduate of the Addis Ababa Fine Art & School in 2002, from the department of painting. This was her first solo exhibition.