Dance Video Project: Jelaté
In the works
Jelaté is a word that could belong in many languages, but is actually invented: a composite. It’s a rhythm, an invocation, and a prayer, rising from many different musical styles and traditions.
Jelaté is a world groove inspired by bhangra and the Afrobeat music of Akim’s South African childhood. It incorporates beatboxing, percussion, vocal styles from Africa and India, Tuvan throat singing, and beyond. Dancers interpret the song in gestures, each expressing the images in their own unique way. Jelaté invokes a meeting of cultures, a yearning for peace, building bridges, not walls.
We will use video recordings of the individual performers, shot in isolation, but ultimately coming together and virtually interacting in a shared on-screen space. The video will not shy away from acknowledging our state of separation during COVID-19, our feelings of solemnity and sadness. Yet it releases a powerful energy, arising from encounters in digital space, that allows us to find connection, harmony, and joy in the colors of our diversity.
Please consider supporting our GoFundMe for this project:
Jelaté GoFundMe
Jelaté is a world groove inspired by bhangra and the Afrobeat music of Akim’s South African childhood. It incorporates beatboxing, percussion, vocal styles from Africa and India, Tuvan throat singing, and beyond. Dancers interpret the song in gestures, each expressing the images in their own unique way. Jelaté invokes a meeting of cultures, a yearning for peace, building bridges, not walls.
We will use video recordings of the individual performers, shot in isolation, but ultimately coming together and virtually interacting in a shared on-screen space. The video will not shy away from acknowledging our state of separation during COVID-19, our feelings of solemnity and sadness. Yet it releases a powerful energy, arising from encounters in digital space, that allows us to find connection, harmony, and joy in the colors of our diversity.
Please consider supporting our GoFundMe for this project:
Jelaté GoFundMe
