J. Moesch Mampuya (Portrait)

The work as a dance pedagogue

A glance at the dance-class

The work begins in silence. The bodies warm up. Then the dancers learn isolated exercises, try out new aspects of movement and dance the movements in the group. The body becomes a field of experimenting. Individual steps are trained to music and singing, posture corrected and tensions loosened. The beginners are helped through the example of the advanced. Some dances are dynamic and stimulate endurance, others are slow and quiet; they require an exact eye for detail. A main focus of this work is to discover one's own energies and those of the group and to experience these together.

Based on her knowledge Jacqueline Moesch Mampuya has developed a dance- and teaching style that brings out the essential elements of African dance and makes it accessible to her students. Now she can look back at a long and rich experience as a dance pedagogue.

The dances

Characteristic for most dances is the repetition and variation of pattems of movement that are typical for the African tradition but also appear in other cultures. The dancers move in circles, in rows and sometimes also solo, always aided by music and singing. The intensity grows until expressing male dynamics or female subtlety.

In Africa the dance is available to everybody – to men and women, to old and young; that is why Jacqueline Moesch Mampuya wants to give everybody here access so that they can find themselves in the dances. She helps the dancers to develop their own expression in the given patterns.

Discipline

African expression dance requires mental and physical presence and awareness. Expression does not develop from blind reactions nor from pretentious aesthetics. To find the authentic gesture in the repetitive movements it requires self-discipline and readiness to be guided. Only like this can the old ways be transformed.

Characteristic for most dances is the repetition and variation of pattems of movement that are typical for the African tradition but also appear in other cultures. The dancers move in circles, in rows and sometimes also solo, always aided by music and singing. The intensity grows until expressing male dynamics or female subtlety.

In Africa the dance is available to everybody – to men and women, to old and young; that is why Jacqueline Moesch Mampuya wants to give everybody here access so that they can find themselves in the dances. She helps the dancers to develop their own expression in the given patterns.