Arts
Tuzinne Dance Festival to Advocate for Human Rights
One of the dancers at the Tuzinne festival 2018
Isaac Walugembe alias Milky a renowned dancer who is also the events coordinator noted that Tuzinne dance festival has been on-going on with workshops and trainings across the country and the festival will take place on 15th and 16th at National Theatre.
The theme of this year’s festival will be “The safety of our people” and the main objective is to advocate for human rights of all people like albinos, disabled and LGBT.
Being a festival that addresses human rights, it is key to make sure the message being preached in movement is actually received and understood.
The festival will have two phases, one happening outside the Uganda National Cultural Centre building, mostly celebrating cultural dances from our forefathers to those that define the streets today and another session inside the auditorium.
Kings 256 dance group performing in the auditorium last year
Organized by Mambya Dance Company, Tuzinne festival brings together more than ten dance companies to celebrate as well as talk dance with the audience and some of the sponsors are Pepsi and Mambya.
Activities like dance, silent disco, symposium, camp fire, awarding and music performances from the mask band, Short film screening and live band by “Amasanyalazze Negagenda” singer karama Esco..
Dance groups from Rwanda, DR Congo, Burundi, Kenya as well as Uganda and artists like Mubiru Slyvans, Say-Manda will be present.
In an interview, the founder of Tuzinne festival Oscar Ssenyonga said much as the festival intends to merge advocacy with dance, fashion and awarding which will also take place, fighting for one’s rights is relevant.
“I am a human rights activist, promoting one united community with peace, love and with all those perspectives I came up with a way we can celebrate Art and fashion without conflict and discrimination.”
Ssenyonga said “Culture, religion, sexuality, colour should not be a reason for a divided community.”
Most of the performances will be a mixture of audio-visual and spoken word; different messages will be passed on through fashion.
In Uganda dance is becoming one of the most celebrated art forms in Uganda; in fact, for many artistes, they can do without it.
However Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Uganda face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT. Both male and female homosexual activity is illegal and they are always discriminated in society,
In 2007 according to activists the Ugandan LGBT community consisted of 500,000 people.
Under the Penal Code, “Carnal knowledge against the order of nature” between two males carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment. The Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014 was passed on 17 December 2013 with a punishment of life in prison for “aggravated homosexuality”.
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