Dar celebrates the life of the Afrobeat trailblazer Fela Kuti
What you need to know:
- The event was filled with incredible performances from young talents who were playing different characters showcasing the life of the Afrobeat legend.
When one mentions Afrobeat in today’s world, you are likely to think of music legends such as Tems, Wizkid, Rema, Burna Boy, and Ayra Star, whose music is now listened to in almost all corners of the world. However before all these icons were even born, there was Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti, who developed this genre by combining West African music with American funk and Jazz.
A Nigerian musician who pioneered Afrobeat in the late 1960s used his music as a ‘weapon of change’. Gathered crowds and sang to them about the corrupt government system in Nigeria, police abuse and other issues.
Last weekend, students from Braeburn International School Arusha recreated the life of Fela as a musician, a son and a political activist. The event was filled with incredible performances from young talents who were playing different characters showcasing the life of the Afrobeat legend.
A one hour and 40-minute show took place at Braeburn’s campus in Dar es Salaam at a basketball court that was decorated to match the shrine, Fela’s performing temple as he named it.
“We have made this film to celebrate the life of Fela, both the bad and the good things without sugarcoating anything so that we get his actual image,” says Miranda Rashid, a Creative Arts and Drama teacher at International School on the opening night.
She details that filming activities started in September 2022 and finalized in early February, this year.
The show began with characters coming from different sides where the audience sat and danced to the musical instruments gracefully. They were wearing different designs made of kitenge as well as transparent and shiny clothing alongside waist and ankle beads. On their heads, were colorful hairstyles of different kinds and some of them were partly covered with stylish head wraps.
The group of dancers divided themselves into three groups, sat on the stage floor and the main character playing Fela (Isaac Kombe) made an entrance, his form was complimented by pink colored trousers paired with a pink shirt with white stripes.
One play ended by showing how Fela died, which was after he was infected by HIV/Aids.
