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Utamaduni Camp
- Utamaduni lejr
-The name "Utamaduni", a swahili word
meaning "culture", was adopted by the dance troupe after a
Danish cultural exchange with the Sukuma tribe in Tanzania in 1977.
The exchange project in which the Danes also performed their
traditional dance, was called "Daraja la Utamaduni" / "The
cultural bridge".
 From that embryonic beginning of cultural
exchange, rich and
fertile images of African culture were absorbed by the "Danes" - all thanks to
the Sukuma people.
Since then Utamaduni has woven a tapestry of dance, drum, and song rhythms into a bond of
friendship with local farmers and handicraft artists, and has inspired more than 25 Danish
dance troupes that meet weekly for dance and workshops.
The Utamaduni Dance Troupe brings alive Africa, right here on the spot, with its
colourful and expressive performance.
Both the young and old are fascinated by the interaction of the big drums and the
dancers,
and enjoy invitations from the troupe to join the dance.
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At Utamaduni’s first gathering for
African dance in Ramten forest, there were only 40 participants.
In 2002, we are proud to celebrate our 20th anniversary with more than 500 adults and over 100 children
singing, drumming,
dancing and living together for 7 days.
This year camp will be running from
July 23th to 30th, 2010.
Pictures from previous camps:
Click here for more archive-photos
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 Tanzania
Sukumaland
In Tanzania dance, drumming and singing is
an integral part of everyday life. Every kind of work has a
song, which
explains the purpose of the work. Also Tanzania is where we find most of the
inspiration to our camp, to our dance troupe, and to all our activities.
 The work itself creates the energy for the rhythm
pattern.
Every celebration has its own
ceremony, songs and dances.
People of all ages join in with the singing
and drumming.
This living expression of mutual happiness and cooperation is the fabric for their social
respect within the tribal society.
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