Emyo Tinyo Dance & Music Festival 2014, Ambrym island, Vanuatu
This video documents the workshops, performances and experiences of traditional and contemporary artists participating in the Emyo Tinyo Dance and Music Festival hosted by Emyotungan Village in West Ambrym from 4th – 10th November 2014.
The festival held on Saturday 8th November in Emyotungan Village was the first of its kind in the Fan area of West Ambrym drawing a crowd of over 300 people from surrounding villages and communities.
Musicians, dancers and artists from around Ambrym island, other islands of Vanuatu, and Melanesian countries, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Caledonia, West Papua and Solomon Islands, collaborated in the days leading up to the festival to create a group performance of songs and dances from the different islands and countries. Other festival activities included sanddrawing exhibitions, a lap lap (traditional dish) preparation and cooking demonstration, weaving lessons and public dances.
The event and this production was made possible through the Traditional Entertainment & Kastom Support (TEKS) Unit of Further Arts in Santo, under the TEKS Program, with support and agreement from the Emyotungan village and its leaders.
The TEKS Team for this activity included: Tio Massing, Steve Williams, Roselyn Tari, Nicky Kuautonga, Augustin Leasley and Sarah Doyle.
The Queensland Art Gallery l Gallery of Modern Art supported the participation of 13 performers from across Melanesia as part of the development of a project exploring Melanesian performance for ‘The Eighth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT8) 2015-2016. Alliance Française de Port Vila and Fondation Suzanne Bastien also supported three Vanuatu-based performers and artists and a dancer from Kanaky to attend the festival.
Performers included: Simane Wenethem (New Caledonia), Sam Roem (West Papua), Katalina Fotofili (Fiji), Tulevu Soronkadavu Tora, Julia Mageau-Gray (Australia/PNG), Lucy Efi (PNG), Michael Maefididia (Solomon Islands), Sanga Nomade (France), Richard Digoue (New Caledonia), as well as Vanuatu performers: Song, Bryan, Jojo Massing, Rosina, Salome, Anderson Laurin, Edwin, Chief Bai Wilpen, Reginald Bong, Andrew Tamata, Manuela Kelep, Longne, Bong Melip, Linden, Graham, Samson, Tio Massing & Steve Williams.
Other participants: Chief Filip Talevu, Joaquim Rufat, Marcel Meltherorong, Ruth McDougall, Ben Wickes, Nico Mole, and everyone on the village committee and in the village who helped!
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The TEKS Program and Engaging Rural Youth in Cultural Rights Activity in Vanuatu project was one of 15 Action Projects that received the 8th UNESCO Youth Forum Label (2013-2015) representing recognition of the project as a concrete example of one that is conceived and led by young women and men to tackle issues of social inclusion, civic engagement, intercultural dialogue and social development.
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