Rwanda’s Wesley Ruzibiza in Addis Ababa for theatre workshop

WESLEY RUZIBIZA is among the eight artists participating in the 2012 Theatre Stage Directors Workshop in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, this week. The artists are Issa Habiba from Tanzania, Aida Mbowa of Uganda, Rogers Otieno of Kenya, Wesley Ruzibiza of Rwanda, Freddy Sabimbona of Burundi and Azeb Worku Sibane, Surafel Wondimu and Tesfaye Eshetu Habtu, all Ethiopians.“The one-week exchange and development program is part of the Sundance Institute East Africa (SIEA) initiative, which supports the work of theatre artists in East Africa by creating exchange and exposure opportunities between U.S. artists and East African writers, directors, and performers,” the organisation said in a press release.“Sundance Institute has long believed that the best way to support artistic growth is by offering hands-on experiences and collaboration with other artists,” said Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute. “In that spirit, the Theatre Stage Directors Workshop has brought together a range of theatre artists from across the creative spectrum to collaborate on their new work.”Below are bios of the participating artists courtesy of Sundance Institute:Wesley Ruzibiza is one of Rwanda’s leading dancers and choreographers. Born in Congo in 1980, Ruzibiza began studying contemporary dance in 2000, at the National University of Rwanda (NUR). Ruzibiza’s choreographic pieces have been showcased for major cultural events, such as the opening of the Panafrican Festival of Dance (FESPAD), Rwanda’s Heroes’ Day, Genocide Commemoration Day, and the Under 20 African Soccer Cup. Ruzibiza holds a B.A. in Dance in Traditional and Contemporary African Style from Ecole de Sables. He has also worked with an international multicultural project for children, The Longest Story in the World, touring in countries including Romania, The UK, and Bangladesh.Freddy Sabimbona (Burundi), actor, director, producer and journalist – as well as the founding director of the satirical comedy group Troupe Lampyre.Born in Washington DC in 1982, Sabimbona studied at the Lumière University Faculty of Law, before turning to a career in the performing arts. Since founding Troupe Lampyre, he has participated in numerous international festivals and various programs focused on resolving ethnic conflict, including travels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, L’Ile de La Réunion and France. Tesfaye Eshetu Habtu (Ethiopia) was born in 1982 in Merawi, Ethiopia. Inspired to work as a theatre director, Tesfaye has directed nine traditional dramas from different regions of Ethiopia, all of which were filmed and presented on Ethiopian national television. Habiba Issa (Tanzania) has been working as an actress and stage director since completing her degree at the Bagamoyo College of Arts, Tanzania in 2003.In 2007, she directed ‘Kuku na Mayai Yake’. After that she was named the Artistic Director at The Parapanda Theatre Lab Trust in Dar es Salaam. Two of her most successful productions with Parapanda (Tanzania’s leading theatre company) were ‘Mfalme Salatani na Mwanawe Guidon’ by Alexander Pushkin in 2010, and ‘Nguzo Mama’ by Penina Muhando in 2011. Aida Mbowa is a Ugandan director and scholar presently pursing a dual PhD in Drama and Humanities at Stanford University, focusing on dramatic literature and music in the wake of political movements, such as decolonization in East Africa and the African American Black Power Movement. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, Aida studied in East Africa with the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts International and completed her Bachelor’s degree, graduating magna cum laude with a BA in Performance and Identity Studies from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. Rogers Otieno, born in rural Kenya and known to his friends as ‘Rojeh’, is one of the brightest young faces of Kenya’s emerging arts scene. An avid performer from childhood, his first stage was the top of his school room desk where he would mimic his teachers. For the past three years, Otieno was the Associate Director in charge of training at Nairobi’s The Theatre Company. His original play ‘My Moving Home’ holds the record for longest running play in Kenya in 2010. Azeb Worku Sibane (Ethiopia) lives and works in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She has worked professionally for more than 15 years in diverse roles including actress, production manager, translator, theatre director and playwright. Sibane has performed at Ethiopia’s National Theatre since 1992 and has appeared in works such as ‘Ha-hu Weyim Pe-Pu’ by Laureate Tsegaye Gebremedhin and ‘Keadmas Bashahge’ by Bealu Girma. She performed at The Swedish Theatre Biennale in Örebro in 2007, as part of the Performing Arts Cooperation between Sweden and East Africa Project (PACSEA), which promoted knowledge and relationship building between the two regions. In 2008, Sibane was selected for an ApexArt Residency in New York City, where she performed ‘The Devil’s Scarf’ and ‘The Lion’s Whiskers’.Surafel Wondimu (Ethiopia) is a playwright, actor, director, poet, journalist and literary critic- born in 1974 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He serves on the AAU Faculty of Humanities as a Lecturer and Assistant Dean.

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Rwanda’s Wesley Ruzibiza in Addis Ababa for theatre workshop