Cultural Creative Dances and Environmental Consciousness in Kenya

Abstract

Traditional African performances in their production and theatrical rendition can be themed to address issues regarding environmental conservation, climate change and digital space. This study demonstrates how cultural creative dances can be used to promote environmental consciousness, examines how the African environment defines the song, movement, sound and colour of the cultural creative dance, and discusses the role of cultural creative dance participants in an environmental conservation in a theatrical setup. It draws data from a close examination of cultural creative dances performed in Kenya Schools and Colleges Drama and Film Festivals. It deploys the Performance and Theatre Semiotics theories to examine how cultural creative dances attempt to sensitize the community on various environmental conservation and climate change issues. It samples five cultural creative dances performed in different years with different themes for the Kenya Schools and Colleges Drama and Film Festivals. These were: Omulumindi, Valumindi, Siwuyiso, Iloto and Unyanyapaa. From the analysis, it is revealed that cultural creative dances arise and are performed within a given environment, therefore, they reflect the issues that touch on that particular environment. The same environment also defines the structural scope of the performance by shaping the song, movement, sound and colour of the cultural creative dance. Lastly, the performance brings together various groups that represent different segments of the setting within the environment. As such, a cultural creative dance is a coalescing of different perspectives on environmental issues. It also serves to provide a common ground on which environmental conservation interventions can be advanced. The study concludes that the Kenyan Cultural Creative Dance is never static; rather it changes with regard to the changes that environment presents, and demonstrates that these performances in fact have both entertainment and educative value, including sensitising the masses on important matters of community concern.