Tebby W.T. RAMASIKE talks to Valerie Scott about African dancing

How long have you been doing African dancing?

Ah! this is what i always talk about because it is still my biggest inspiration till today. When I was between five and six years old, living with my grandparents in South Africa, I once heard a drumbeat from far off. I always liked dancing and music, but this call of the drumbeat was totally different, something told me to go and see. To my surprise following this sound, I discovered it came from a part of the area of the township where I lived and children were not allowed to go It was said to be a sacred ground for the gods (ancestors) and spiritual people (adults only), This area was surrounded by high and thick algae plants which grew as high as trees and one could not see clearly what was happening inside there. I did not want to give up, the call of the drumbeat became stronger and i finally found a little gap to squeeze my tiny little body through and hoping not to be caught and stuck by the thorns of the algae. What I saw were women, old women dancing and shaking and making fire and inhaling smoke or whatever was in the calabash they were passing through and the drummers were singing and beating the drums hard as they stumped their feet. I thought to myself, "Ah! this is only for women, I cannot do it as a boy". But a few weeks later, the same calling of the drum came to me, well i did not waste any time and went to discover, this time it was stronger than before. I peeped again through the whole and trying to be silent as if someone will hear me. Well no one inside the circle could see me, so I watched, I saw a man dancing, he was shaking and stumping at the same time, my body started getting hot, it was as if I was on fire, the ground i was crouching felt it was moving, or maybe it was my little body moving to the drumbeat. Without hearing any sound except the sounds from voices, shouts, screams, singing voices and drums of the Sangomas (a South African word for an equivalent of the Western culture naming of the Shaman).

These were not witch-doctors as normally deemed to be, but they were the healers. All of a sudden I was caught by my two neighbours (adults) who were passing-by going home from work. Well I was carried up like a little rag doll and spanked hard on my buttocks and told I should NEVER go there EVER again, that place is not for children and i should not see such things. I do not know what the myth of children not allowed to see this was. But everyday i told myself i want to be like that but I did not know how. All I did first was start to shake my whole body in-front of the mirror till I started to cry with pain in my stomach. Well this became my daily practice and as well as the stumping of the feet and eventually the clapping and singing. even taught some of my shaking movements to my young friends, as we all sang and danced together in our childhood games. I went back to this area many times and i was caught and punished everyday. But i never gave up.

In 1972 I was moved from my grandparents house after the death of my grandmother, to my parents house in another city. So this part of life that I had so admired and got connected to was taken away because where my parents lived i did not come across this. But in 1973, I became very fortunate to leave South Africa and go to school in Lesotho (a small Kingdom country surrounded by South Africa). There at primary school we were taught traditional dances, though not the same what I had seem before.
But these dances we learnt we did at school and during our games, it was part of us, our daily lives, our culture. * *We used to have recreational programmes, which i was a big part of it, but also we had to learn about our African Culture, not only dance, but music as well as the way of living traditionally. So I started off learning many different traditional African Dances, particularly those of the Basotho and Zulu nations. But when I grew up and I was focused more dance, after changing my career plans and getting more involved in the arts, Ii started to do research and study African dance more seriously and in depth. I became very interested in the diversity of the African culture and the different dances from different African countries, tribes and clans. This has been a very interesting exploration, discovery, spiritual journey and a way to exchange ideas both culturally and artistically. Having done my researchand studies in African dance, I became more interested in the rituals and spirituality of the African culture and this took me back to my years when I was five and six years old, the era of the call of the Drumbeat. Later on in my life I became friends with some people who had had a "call from the ancestors" and have become Sangomas. this enriched my wanting to know more. This time I was easily invited to some of the ritualistic ceremonies as well as attending many traditional African dance events. In 1991 I choreographed my first ritualistic & poetical solo, in which I danced the role of a Sangoma and I won my very first dance and choreography award as a professional. This became a door that opened up the dance teacher and dancer not forgetting the person I am today. This drumbeat still lives in my soul and heart has become that sound and i share this calling in my dance teaching and I am very happy and fortunate to not only show my choreographies and performances but share it with others.

What is special to you about African dancing?
Africa means ME! and African dance is my soul and spirit, more especially if one, like I did, have not only looked at African dance from traditional and ethnic side as well as just a form of entertainment, but looking into its depth, its roots and discovering that it is just more that entertainment and explosive energy. i believe, which has been a very important fact in my African dance development, that African dance has that internal energy, that comes our from the depth of the soul and heart, the body receives and brings out. It always makes bitter and angry when people think African dance is only using that explosive energy, it is really a sad thing to only believe. i always share this fact with my students and dancers. the joy and passion of dance, in whatever form, comes from inside, that is where the beauty lies, not from outside. It all starts inside and then the beauty can shine outwards. The students who participated in workshops in Arleen and other cities in Europe and abroad have been amazingly great to open up and receive this importance of African as opposed to only doing African dance as if it is an aerobics class. it is about the body, the soul, a spiritual being, humanity, joy, passion, fun and getting as much information one can get, that is really important and my teaching African dance has become very important because I do not have to rely on technique and what the book says like in most other dancer forms I teach. it also has brought out the person in me to share and offer as much as learning from the others. To dance African dance enriches my soul, it is not just a do and go, but bringing the context of the body, mind and soul under one roof, with that energy that calls on from the depth of the bosom. When i hear African music, I see so many images, so many places, just like being caught in the inspiration of the American Native Indians, where that Spirit of the Eagle lives on, which for some reason or other, i feel connected to (something I still have to find out what is this). It is a joy and passion always to dance to the soul of the drumbeat and that of the singing voices and yet find that silence and peace in it.

 
How do you feel when you hear African dancing or you dance to it?
Well I have many views on this subject. I have seen and trained with mazing teachers. I have watched them dance and want to join them on stage. i have been surprised how the Zulu dance women can really move with that excellent energy, it so inspiring to watch. i have seen the elegance of different dances, the formation, the meanings and the deliverance, in many different forms and energies. But what has really been a problem is those who only do and not share, that kills the passion of dance. Dance is a social language, needs to be shared, but there is those who only do it for themselves to be admired by others and not share with others, that is where the teaching of African methodology comes in, the know how and what to offer and share and what to get out. It is an important point. I feel so-inspired if I can inspire other people by either my teaching and dancing. That is why i do not just stand and dictate steps but I love to dance with my students, guide them and share each others' energies. the heartbeat of Africa is way too strong and one cannot only hold on to it by himself but needs to share.

How did you join the Gotta Dance team (Did Barbara Hess talk to you about it?
Yes I met Barbara Hess at my African dance workshops in Arlon, many times, one of my loyal supporters, lovely lady who moves beautifully and really is feeling the Spirit of Africa. She informed me about gotta dance gave me information and i think she also gave information about me to Valerie Scott, who in turn sent me an e-mail enquiring about possibilities of me giving giving African dance classes at Gotta Dance. well became an offer i could not refuse and only had to find time to do it. Teaching is my passion as much as dance and choreography is. And through teaching especially non-professionals, people from all walks of life who want to use their bodies and energies differently and enjoy and have fun, I can reach out to the soul and yet be fed by their souls. Ladies like Barbara have offered me this. I am very happy that Barbara informed me about gotta Dance otherwise I would have not known about it and happy that Valerie contacted me. Merci Beaucoup!

For you what is the club about?
Looking and analyzing the name or word or statement *GOTTA DANCE! ** *it means many things. Most important it is not about technique, which of course is important, but is all about JOY, FUN, BEAUTY, PASSION, coming to CONNECT WITH ONSELF, that is where one starts to admire him/herself. *FUN! FUN! FUN! * are the key words. I always say there is NO MISTAKE in my classes, connect to the material and movement and make it your own and have fun. So *GOTTA DANCE* is where we find the fun in dancing and moving. I may have not been to GOTTA DANCE but this statement is alive and says it all! So in conclusion, to bring us all together as one! *LET US DANCE & HAVE FUN TOGETHER.