On the occasion of International Dance Day, celebrated on April 29 each year since 1982, Congolese dancers gathered to celebrate their day but also to pay tribute to one of theirs who died there. a few days ago. This is Professor Longa Fo, who was until his death, head of the dance department at the National Institute of Arts.
Despite the activity, everything did not go as planned according to dancer Jackson Lohanga.
“This day was to be celebrated by the Congolese dance federation association, this is where we were going to pay tribute to Professor Longa fo. Today in Goma and Bukavu, there is a very big ceremony to celebrate this day and it was planned to be like this in Kinshasa but unfortunately this day is neglected,” laments Jackson Lohanga.
Dance is a form of living art, an ephemeral mode of expression made up of sequences of body movements in space, often accompanied by music. A complete art that can convey messages well, explains Jonathan Mango, dance artist and entrepreneur.
“Dance is the art of the stage, it is a discipline which helps one to identify and it is a particular discipline because it is different from music, in music, there is language while in dance we have the presence of gestures,” he says.
In the DRC, dance has undergone evolution and modernization. Currently, there are over 450 dance styles. In addition to music, dance is the most present art in Congolese and African culture.
Jackson Lohanga looks to the future and deplores the lack of organization in the sector.
“At the rate things are going, if we let it go, it will be miserable, because many dancers today are in music videos, yet the dancer must have the spirit of seeking knowledge to be able to improve his way of doing things », he adds.
Students of the National Institute of Arts took advantage of this day to pay tribute to Professor Longa Fo, who died on the night of April 17 to 18, who was the first professor to teach dance at the INA.
“We don’t realize it today but we lost a baobab, Longa fo is the one who brought contemporary dance to Kinshasa, he worked with Germaine Acogny who is the founder of African dance,” says Murphy Ndombi, dancer.
A brilliant dance teacher, Longa Fo did not survive a long illness which affected him. He thus passed away on the night of April 17 to 18 and is not yet buried to this day.
Tegra Kadeke, UCC intern
