Tadhi Alawi

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Tadhi Alawi

Preferred pronouns:

he/him
Birth year:

1994
Primarily based in or works from:

Tanzania, United Republic of
Skills:

choreography dance theater film making performing project management
Topics:

personal political war and conflict climate human rights political
Contact information:

Currently working on:

Parents Across Borders - This dynamic piece blends contemporary dance and poetic expression to explore the complexities of parenthood, the multicultural dimensions of family life, and the profound influence these experiences have on shaping one's identity as an artist.

Quick Facts:

Tadhi Alawi is a Tanzanian entrepreneur and multidisciplinary artist, working as a movement researcher, curator, filmmaker, performer, and choreographer. He is the co-founder and creative director of Nantea Dance Company, based in Dar es Salaam, known for creating visually striking performances inspired by Tanzanian social life, colonial histories, and the dynamics of a rapidly changing world.

Tadhi currently co-curates Kiota Cha Dansi, a dance platform in Dar es Salaam developed in collaboration with Goethe-Institut Tanzania and Nantea Dance Company to foster exchange and development within the performance dance scene. In 2024, he was appointed curator of the Dance Platform Project at the Haba na Haba International Dance Festival, bringing together 15 performing artists from across Sub-Saharan Africa in partnership with Goethe-Institut Tanzania.

His dance films have received international recognition, including a feature on BBC News (2020), and he was awarded Best Interface with the Public at the Dare to Dance in Public Film Festival (2020). With extensive international experience performing, teaching, and choreographing across Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East and the Americas, Tadhi’s vision centers on exploring diverse forms of beauty through art while contributing to the growth and development of Tanzania’s arts sector and its communities.

Three relevant works from the last 5 years of artistic practice:

Highest educational degree:

Diploma in Dance, MUDA Africa Dance School, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Work samples:

A moment - Wakati

A moment - Wakati, is a dance performance including a film projection is an interpretation of the moments and understandings that can change a person's life: the development from child to adult and the world around us. "A Moment" uses images, movement and music to illustrate how we can find support, care and comfort in our common experiences, in the moments we share with others in our daily lives. The piece explores how moments define our existence and how they influence how we experience the present.

Dar Es Salaam - A house of peace

Dar es Salaam - A house of peace is a dance performance of 40 minutes combining images, music and a short dance film. The performance telling stories and showing perspectives about Dar es Salaam since Tadhi was born until now and what the future of Dar es Salaam will be.!! Tadhi Alawi has witnessed these changes while growing up living in different districts of Dar es Salaam and finding his own way to project the voice through his own movement inspired by the lifestyle and community who grew up with in the city of Dar es Salaam.

The idea of the concept came up after asking himself questions about how the community changed? How did the city change? And how did these two aspects inFluence each other? What is Tanzania without Umoja? What is Dar es Salaam without Ujamaa?

PARENTS ACROSS BOARDERS

Parents Across Borders - A captivating duet performance by Tanzanian choreographer and dancer Tadhi Alawi and Burundian theater performer and playwright Laura Sheïlla Inangoma.

This dynamic piece blends contemporary dance and poetic expression to explore the complexities of parenthood, the multicultural dimensions of family life, and the profound influence these experiences have on shaping one's identity as an artist.

Supported by Alliance Française in Dar es Salaam Alliance this co-production features:

Choreography: Tadhi Alawi
Dramaturgy: Laura Sheïlla Inangoma
Performers: Laura Sheïlla Inangoma & Tadhi Alawi
Music: Siger Maxter
Production: Nantea Dance Company & Troupe Les Enfoirés de SaNoLaDante

Short Dance Film - Dar es Salaam

A short dance Film - Dar es Salaam is a film that touches different angle and stories about the city with its people.

Dar Es salaam is the home of six million people, its name means City of Peace. Since its first houses were built in 1866 until today, it has attracted people to come day after day. Back then, it used to be called Mzizima, but the name was changed to Dar es Salaam during Arabic colonization by Sultan Majid bin Said. The city has been shaped by this encounter of Arabic and Bantu elements. Throughout the decades passing it has witnessed the most important moments in Tanzanian history. All these influences from the Indian Ocean, from Europe as well as Tanganyika mainland and beyond have merged to create a modern city deeply influenced by Swahili culture.

YIN-YANG

YIN-YANG In a poetic composition of dance, music, verbal language and text, the YIN-YANG performance delves into different perspectives of human and social imbalances. The piece uses the contrast between black and white to express the experiences of individuals and the world. The choreography embodies the struggle between the individual and society and shows the dynamics of power in the search for balance in life.

The piece challenges the audience to confront our uncomfortable realities and to explore new possibilities and new directions. The choreography shows different levels of the performers' relationship to the imbalances of the world (from the global to the individual). In this way, each performer confronts their complex realities and their current relationship to the world in which we live.

WHAT I FEEL INSIDE

WHAT I FEEL INSIDE is a new project that combines a short film, solo dance performance, and photo exhibition by Nicholas Kelvin and myself, Tadhi Alawi. The idea for this project originated in 2022 when I met Nicholas during the submission of a UK VISA Application and the shock of the global conflict between Russia and Ukraine. We found that we had a lot to share with each other and ended up creating a short dance film that expresses my emotions and incorporates various stories. I have included a link below where you can watch the film, which is still a work in progress.

Dance: Tadhi Alawi

Film Making by Nicholas Kelvin

BODY VS MOUTH

Body vs Mouth - So many things will arise from nature when we give them a chance. Our bodies are part of nature. Give yours space to speak. Our mouths carry too many stories that are sagging through lies. Nature speaks its own language, speaks truth. It speaks in a way it cannot be done by any mouth. If we do not allow our bodies' natural expression this uncontrollable power will fade. It will not be able to connect with our ancestor's spirits. My nature seeks talk

The piece I created from this idea shows the stillness and patience of how nature can powerfully talk without words. It shows the connection between our bodies and the ground we stay, grow and live upon. The body and the ground are soil, are earth. Our bodies evolve from soil and return to soil. Nature is germinating constantly.