nora chipaumire: Nehanda, The Quick Center, Fairfield, CT, USA

Ever since 2010 when we first "discovered’ The Quick, each time we experience a performance there we continue to be amazed at the depth and breadth of what they offer patrons with their diverse cultural offerings, which are truly spectacular. Whether pushing the envelope with contemporary performances, with stimulating lectures about current topics, with opera, diverse dance programs, or a wide variety of music concerts, they never fail to deliver memorable evenings that expand the mind and excite the senses and the imagination.

On Friday, September 23, 2022, we had the pleasure of experiencing nora chipaumire’s opera, Nehanda. Although the opera tours extensively in Europe, it is usually performed as a few of the "chapters" presented over consecutive nights and it is rarely performed in its entirety of all three "chapters." However, we have come to expect the unexpected at The Quick, so when we had the opportunity to experience the opera being performed for one night only in its entirety, of course we wanted to experience it. The performance lasted just shy of 5-hours, running without an intermission, with the audience seated on wooden stools, benches, and on plastic milk crates on stage with the action taking place all around us, engaging the audience for an immersive sensorial experience quite unlike anything we had ever seen. Throughout the performance, the cast physically moved the audience about the stage providing different vantage points at which to sit and experience the story.

The opera consists of three chapters: Chapter 1: (Natives/Empire), Chapter 2: (Pungwe/Comrade Judas ne ma jekenishi), and Chapter 3: (Manifesting Thinking), with Artistic Direction by nora chipaumire, and Shona spiritual: dramaturgy by Gwinyai Rutsito.

nora chipaumire was born in 1965 in Rhodesia, (now Zimbabwe), and is a multi-award winner who has clearly made her mark in the world of art and dance with her bold and inspirational stories. Now based in Brooklyn, New York, for Nehanda, she takes her art to another stratosphere, with its vibrant and evocative storytelling through music and dance. The opera begins in 1898 and is described as a "juridical" opera which explores the "confusing and conflicting world of Shona spirituality, politics, power, and methodologies of anti-colonial resistance." It is an opera that is powerful and dazzling to behold, deftly told by an engaging and impressive storyteller, nora chipaumire. Well received by the appreciative audience, the cast received a standing ovation concluding a cultural evening that will not soon be forgotten.

There was a champagne reception following the performance where the audience had the opportunity to speak with the cast and engage in meaningful conversations about the opera. After seeing nora chipaumire’s opera, Nehanda, we look forward to seeing more works from this creative contemporary genius.

For information on nora chipaumire and touring information, please visit the website: www.companychipaumire.com.

Background Information on Nehanda

"Conceived as an African opera, choreographer nora chipaumire’s newest performance investigates the legend of Nehanda, a powerful Zimbabwean spirit venerated by the Shona people who inhabits only women. In 1896-97, Nehanda’s medium was a heroic revolutionary leader who orchestrated the first uprisings in British-occupied Southern Rhodesia. Together with four comrades, she was captured and, after getting an expedited and unjust trial, executed by the British colonizers, who were so scared that they ordered her bones and the skull to be sent to the UK."

"Nehanda offers a legal and philosophical defense for these first historic heroes of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, with a libretto based on the infamous court case "The Queen [Victoria] vs. Nehanda" (1898). The operatic, movement-based theater performance is an immersive, participatory, and durational spectacle where participants can collectively perform and investigate the process of law-making and its crucial role in the European colonial project.

"nora chipaumire was born in Zimbabwe and is based in NYC, where her company has been challenging and embracing stereotypes of Africa and the Black performing body, art, and aesthetic. She is a graduate of the University of Zimbabwe’s School of Law and holds an MA in dance and MFA in choreography & performance from Mills College. She has studied dance in Africa, Cuba, Jamaica, and the U.S. and has performed her multiple award-winning works worldwide."

The Cast

Until next time, keep enjoying and supporting the arts!

The Quick Center for the Arts always has something wonderful happening with lectures, art receptions, opera, concerts, dance, plays, and so much more, so be sure to visit their website for upcoming events: https://quickcenter.fairfield.edu

To see their 2022-2023 Season Program, please visit: https://quickcenter.fairfield.edu/season-brochure/index.html

Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
Fairfield University
1073 North Benson Road
Fairfield, Connecticut 06824-5195
United States
Box Office: 203-254-400
Toll-Free: 1-877-ARTS-396
Email: quickboxoffice@fairfield.edu
Website: https://quickcenter.fairfield.edu
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