Kenyan forum explores music and dance in Eastern Africa

Jean Ngoya Kidula, Professor of Music (Ethnomusicology), will set the pace for the two-day forum with a presentation on music, dance and theatre in Eastern Africa. In her paper titled staging the nation: Posturing music, dance and theatre in Eastern Africa, Professor Kidula notes that music and theatre have received much more research and scholarship while dance is slightly isolated for individual study. Where there is study on dance it is often connected with the composition and performance of specific music genres or invoked in writing and performing theatre works.

In her presentation, the professor will therefore compare the situation in Kenya with that of select West African countries in order to generate discussion on the progress of these various postures in producing and inspiring contemporary national, communal or individual artistic works.

With more than 20 papers expected to be presented on the two days, some of the research papers will focus on the work of various artists from Kenya and Tanzania. Peter Simatei from Moi University in Kenya will explore the work of the late Kenyan singer Samwel Kiptesot Sang, aka Junior Kotestes, in his paper titled Sexual Metaphor and Innuendo in Kalenjin Popular Music: Strategies of Concealment in the Lyrics of Kiptesot Sang.

Junior Kotestes was a popular singer whose music was loved by the old for the richly spiced-up proverbs he employed. 'Kitokostaiyat' and 'Twolyot' are among his well-known singles. Junior Kotestes succumbed to pneumonia in 2015.

Prof Imani Sanga of the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania on the other hand will focus on how music videos undermine various established gender norms and the associated ideas of masculinity in Tanzania. He will base his presentation on two music videos, namely 'Gado' by Zay B and Professor Jay’s 'Zali la Mentali', in his paper titled Force and Faults of Gender Transgressive Acts in Tanzanian Rap Music Videos: Reading Zay B’s 'Gado' and Prof Jay’s 'Zali la Mentali'. In his paper Professor Imani argues the failure of these “gender transgressive” acts to undermine the dominance of male masculinity, is a result of the unjustified foundations of the acts that float on the male masculinity itself.

Dr Priscilla Nyawira Gitonga of Kenyatta University in Kenya paper explores feminist perspectives of female adolescents through hip hop. Through her research Dr Gitonga notes that hip hop has significance in the lives of female adolescents. The findings reveal that although the production of hip hop music as a genre is largely dominated by males, this genre plays a fundamental role in providing adolescents with an understanding of “ideal” behaviour by women. Dr. Gitonga’s findings further reveal that hip hop facilitates the liberation and emancipation of women in Africa.

The other papers will tackle issues such as lyricism and its significance in the composition of dirges, gender and discourse in music, music and the African rites of passage among other issues.

The first of its kind to be organized by IFRA in collaboration with the Technical University of Kenya, the two day forum aims at affirming the importance of academic work on the topic of performing arts and the benefits of such work. This event is expected to act as a forum for discussion and exchanging ideas to facilitate networking between researchers in the region, as well as to encourage young scholars and students in the field.

The full programme of the two-day forum, can be accessed via the IFRA website or downloaded below.