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[oumaonyango]

Diary

14 October 2003 One morning,, at Ngong’ Karen, I am in a catholic church ordination ceremony. Songs and  dances fill the congregation in a collective ecstasy as morning sun rays slices in through tinted windows,  spreading heavenly splendour a cross the cathedral and over the altarwhere the mass was being  conducted. The rays cut thin sharp shafts of gold.  Sitting close to the entrance, the…

[oumaonyango]

Pina Bausch Dance and Choreography Fellowship for Dancers and Choreographers 2016

Pina Bausch Dance and Choreography Fellowship for Dancers and Choreographers 2016

Pina Bausch  Presentation  in Wuppertal , Germany https://fellowship.pinabausch.org/en/year/fellows/2016/jared-onyango January 4, 2017             Jared Onyango worked with Francesco Scavetta, Italian choreographer of WEE Dance Company based in Norway and the Artistic director of Vitlycke Performing Arts Centre in Tanumshede, Sweden. Francesco Scavetta has been invited to hold workshops for…

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The Fleeting D Phase 4

The Fleeting D Phase 4

The once coveted glory of hall 41 is fast fading. Its magnificent facade; wide space, high roof, elegant pillars all wasting to ruin. Hall 41 prides itself as the hub of young talents in Dandora. I write about the events that happened between 2002 to 2012 as a remembrance of the little known story of acrobatics at Hall 41 in Dandora estate listening to a cheesy reggae mix-tape, prompted…

[oumaonyango]

a book on my lap

a book on my lap

a book on my laps here i am, peaceful, settled and composed, smelling the scent of leafy vegetation, admiring the sparkling beauty of blooming flowers. feeling the scent of the wet earth and tracing with my eyes, the protruding paths of the rain water flooding the ground with each outpour. the green vegetation covers the vast landscape to its yonder end, even to the mushrooming gorofas. the air…

[oumaonyango]

life should offer more

life should offer more

searching within. he can’t find options. he too is, as they who left, those who felt it and saw it. running, he measures his steps, he takes his chances. darting, he knows it’s to be over gesturing and contemplating, life should offer more. dance is not important,neither is it present now. if only he would grasp a meaning, if he only knew the truth. bearing the touch of loss. reality is not…

[oumaonyango]

sasa nairobi

‘sasa Nairobi’ could mean; ‘the present Nairobi’  of which ‘sasa’ taken singularly could imply ‘time’. Like time of day, time of a present moment or time of an event. An imaginary time, contemporariness of the present, time of an era, trend, fashion etc.

Nairobi on the other hand is the power house where issues of governance and political decisions are made. Nairobi filters and render viable…

[oumaonyango]

wooden bridge

wooden bridge

floods washed it away after the heavy rains.

remains of objects left behind litters the bank.

mark of where the bridge used to be is washed too.

where the flood waters used to pass through is clear

the river expanded it surface when its volume increased.

its roaring sound is immersive and huge.

ihis is the only Nairobi’s clean river

[oumaonyango]

me in the square

me in the square

I imagine, a square meter with me at its sole centre, drawn in a far region of a room where a table installation is performing a haphazard landscape society.  I imagine a square meter with me at its centre. A stand erected before me with papers mounted then placed at the edge of the square.

Borders between singular locations mark territories, rather than actually separating something. The…

[oumaonyango]

rifts and lines

A natural line, a boundary running through the rocks

Extending great distances,

Dividing the land in two; this side and that side.

Almost a path

Huge concrete slabs over piles of soil round it.

It’s been here long time now but who placed them all over?

Arranged them haphazardly, carelessly over the landscape.

Who dumped them here? When?

[oumaonyango]

in the wild

In the wild

Feel like smoking

But I convinced myself otherwise,

This place doesn’t need scent of cigarette

Down the stream, someone is bathing, washing his clothes too.

Man would still have learnt bathing from the birds even if he didn’t know yet.

[oumaonyango]

natural sound

sounds of water flowing over rocks.

layered with such refreshing harmony.

music of a stream,

not too deep, perhaps on the surface,

the water is crystal clear

clean white roots protruding

tadpoles swimming in-between.

the layers are discernible; on my right is the loudest,

on the left – violent and metallic.

behind, another small stream joins with a timbre of a running…

[oumaonyango]

the person

He searches within

He probes himself

He can’t find peace even with himself

Till he finds what he is searching for

Like a man in a room and alone

Searching his bearing in the space

Touching, measuring with his arm

Placing, stretching, stumping

Swiftly, silent and quick.

[oumaonyango]

Lambwe Love

Am crossing hills of Nyakach

Descending the valley

To see my love

She sleeps in Lambwe.

But how beautiful,

your valley

And daring my feet

crushing thorns to see my love

She sleeps down the valley

Soothing in Lambwe’s promise

I envy nights of Lambwe

That blanket her beauty.

[oumaonyango]

Playing with the balloon

Playing with the balloon

Waves break like

Drops and chimes like

metals percussion, like

Constrained Movements

limbs off and falling

everyday kneeling

twisting a toe

walking on ‘four’

nodding and twisting

[oumaonyango]

A DIARY OF A CONTEMPORARY DANCER

A DIARY OF A CONTEMPORARY DANCER

On the morning of 14 October 2003 in Ngong’ Karen, sitting in Msongari catholic cathedral as songs and dances unfold around me, I enjoyed real memorable moments. I was part of teenagers who were invited to witness the ordination of a brother who had been doing charity some work in Korogocho.

At one moment, I walked far back, far off from my sit and stood at the entrance door for to admire the…

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THINGS ON TABLE

This is written as a personal voyage for those who might think of taking a similar trip.

Here could have been a picture of me at Wath K’ogello, Sondu Miriu river in Kajimbo, Nyakach village in September 2016.

Unwrap the contents, spill them on the table, spread them, display them – for a minute. Wonder who takes it seriously. If someone think I’m playing, that person probably don’t know how…

[oumaonyango]

mirror man

Of city boundaries

And people territories

A race of nationalities,

Histories, facts, territories.

A person speaks to the mirror,

Argue, stops, done and over.

……………

Dispute God,

Dissent creation.

Dispute tribe?

Am I my name

Am I?

It makes me

Hate myself.

……………

Ask the mirror man,

Am I center of dispute?

Name me a name,

Name me to change me.