CriticalDance Forum

IN UGANDA, 1.7 million children have lost one or both of their parents to the AIDS epidemic. But despite chaos and anguish, the Children of Uganda manage to bring hope to their nation, which has been ravaged by illness and reeling from civil war.
Friday night this effervescent group of 21 children, ranging in age from 8 to 19, brings a program of traditional Ugandan and other African dances, drumming and stories to the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at Maryland. Saturday they present a one-hour family matinee appropriate for youngsters and their parents. Under the watchful, even fatherly eye of Frank Katoola -- the troupe's choreographer, director, teacher and guardian -- these youngsters offer up a vibrant celebration of traditional and contemporary African arts.

The Children of Uganda performance began as three young girls crossed the stage singing in haunting a cappella, "I want to tell my story." Since most of the participants in the Children of Uganda Tour of Light are AIDS orphans, it seems their story would be one of sorrow and pain. Instead, on Friday night at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, these children told the story of their culture with dance, drums and ear-to-ear smiles.

Storyteller Peter Kasule guided the audience through a series of traditional dances, all choreographed and directed by Frank Katoola. The children, ages 8 to 18, showed grace and burgeoning virtuosity in drumming, dancing and singing. Although girls and boys danced and sang, boys dominated the drums. Kasule noted that traditionally drummers had only been male, but in the second half, the girls showed that they, too, could beat the drums with fervor.

Children of Uganda: Young Emissaries From a Troubled Land, Joyous Still
by GIA KOURLAS for the New York Times

The baby of the troupe, Miriam Namala, 6, lost her father to AIDS when she was an infant; her mother is H.I.V.-positive, but in her rendition of "Titi Katitila," she commanded the stage with an uncanny maturity. Her sweet voice and slyly silky movement, executed while balancing a pot on her head, seemed to emanate from a profound inner vibration. The song she sang was about how one sleeps better after seeing a friend.

published: April 13, 2006

Young performers find joy in face of Uganda’s tragedy
To the sound of rhythmic drumming, 11 girls in the troupe Children of Uganda strutted onto the stage at the Joyce Theater in New York recently. It was the start of a rehearsal for the electrifying show they have performed in more than 25 American cities since January and will present at the Berklee Performance Center [in Boston] tonight and tomorrow.
.... Children of Uganda are phenomenal, both as artists and as people.
.... “We dance and sing and drum about the beauty of Africa and Uganda,” [Peter] Kasule said. “We don’t talk about our tragedies. We want people to see our joy and to create hope.”