MBONGUI WORKSHOP SERIES!!

Dance!   Poetry!    Lecture/Demo!

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Tickets:

https://mbongui-workshopseries.eventbrite.com

Instructors

Roshonda Parker

Roshonda, also known as showtime when she is dancing, was born and raised in the bay area and loves it. just like everyone in this world, we stress and we all need some kind of outlet to release that stress or built up energy. She finds that dance is the one thing that can't be taken from her and she is in complete control of her actions. Roshonda has been dancing ever since she could remember. From step teams, school shows, full productions and forming her own choreographies. She has also taught a dance called bits and pieces for elementary children to perform at their school performance.

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Luc Ibata 

Luc is a dancer, technologist and Social Entrepreneur. With roots from the Republic of Congo, Luc has been dancing his whole life and is a passionate performer!He is an advocate of the use of "hackathons" as a tool for Social Environmental Impact.

Uzo Nwankpa

is a storyteller, dancer, choreographer, facilitator, entrepreneur, researcher and an advocate for healing through indigenous practices.
Originally from Enugu, Nigeria, West Africa, Uzo has infused her education as a Registered Nurse with her passion for music and dance to create opportunities that promote health awareness with the use of old technologies utilized by indigenous people all over the world. This evidenced based method of healing is called the Uzo Method Project.

Byb Bibene

Born and raised in the Republic of Congo, Byb Chanel Bibene is a choreographer. His own technical and aesthetic sensibility is rooted in the culture and traditional dances of his country.

Darius Simpson 

Darius is A spoken word artist, writer, proud wearer of crocs, poet, and social justice advocate born in Akron, Ohio. He received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from Eastern Michigan University. He is the author of Conversion Theory (2018), and uses poetry as a tool with which to heal, inform, and challenge his audience in their awareness of social, political, and economic oppression.

Thursday Dec 19, 7-9pm: Lecture-Demonstration:

Nkisi NkondiNkisi Nkondi-Sacred Kongo Sculptures

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Byb Kongo Bibene introduces Nkisi Nkondi: A Divine Sculpture from Central Africa, a public talk which reveals the not so told functions of the minkisi minkondi, the sacred statues found in the great kingdom of Kongo, central Africa. The minkisi were power figures used by individuals, families, or whole communities to destroy or weaken evil spirits, prevent or cure illnesses, repel bad deeds, solemnize contracts or oath taking, and resolve disputes. A diviner or holy person would activate the statue, using magical substances. In this presentation, Bibene draws a portrait of Central Africa before and after colonization, with social, political, and religious implications. He also mentions the intersectionality between the Kongo Cosmology via the Kongo cosmogram called Dikenga Kia Nza Kongo and the bodily movement in the life cycles. The talk precedes a demonstration of the state of the body while in communion with the physical and metaphysical worlds.