In war-scarred Central African Republic, ballet keeps ethnic heritage alive

In war-scarred Central African Republic, ballet keeps ethnic heritage alive

The dancers shake their hips, kicking their feet to the beat of the age-old “dance of the caterpillars”, typically performed in the south where the insects are gathered for food. Three times a week the National Ballet rehearses traditional dances of the many ethnic groups making up the Central African Republic (CAR). “The creations they ask of us are based on the particularities of each ethnicity. I’m Banda and I have to suggest dance steps from…

Photo Patrick Meinhardt / AFP The hips run frantically, the feet follow the steady pace of the tam-tams, grelots and balafons. Three times a week, under the fiery sun of Bangui, the dancers of the National Ballet of Centrafrique repeat tirelessly to make live the legacy of the traditional dances of the ethnicities of the country. "All my parents are artists and I dreamed" of being also, says Intelligentsia Oualou, 26, one of the 62 dancers of th…

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