Other Activities At Neema Crafts

 

The Neema Crafts Deaf Dance and Drumming Troupe

Traditional Dancing with a difference. How can you dance if you can't hear the music? All musicians and dancers in this spectacular African Dance Troupe are deaf. The lead dancer sets the rhythm followed by the rest of the dancers. The drummers and Mirimba follow this beat. It's a very difficult way to perform but unless you look very closely you won't notice the difference!

The Neema Crafts Dance Troupe started in 2007, performing locally in Iringa town. Their fame soon spread and in September 2008 they were invited for a three week tour of the U.K. including performances at Greenbelt 2008, a major U.K. Summer festival, performing in front of thousands, running dance workshops and showcasing the abilities of deaf people. They then went on to perform in churches and schools across Yorkshire and the South East of England.

In 2009 they were the highlight of the E.U. Embassy's celebrations in Dar-es-Salaam and Zanzibar, Celebrating the E.U. Year of creativity and innovation, performing at the personal request of the ambassador himself.

In early 2010 they were invited to perform at the prestigious 'Sauti ya Busara' cultural festival in Stone Town, Zanzibar alongside various international acts and were received to great acclaim.

They continue to perform a variety of dances from traditional with a contemporary twist to story telling through dance

Sports At Neema Crafts

At Neema Crafts we have encouraged participation in disabled sports to help build community, to encourage exercise as part of physiotherapy programmes and to show the wider community just how able these guys are!

Neema Crafts has two football teams and a sitting volleyball group. The Deaf and the One Legged Football teams and occasionally a combined team play regularly against local able-bodied teams and often win. It is an amazing sight to see just how fast around the field and how skilled some of our players are.

For those confined to wheelchairs, often because of polio in childhood, every week after work we meet up to play the Para-Olympic sport of sitting volleyball. Often intrigued locals will join us and great fun and good exercise is had by all. You never know we may have future Para-Olympians so far undiscovered at Neema Crafts!

Promoting African Culture and Art at Neema

Every month in our conference room, Neema Crafts hosts a concert often combined with a fabulous dinner laid on by our deaf chefs. We seek out the best acts from across the country, with many well known modern African cultural bands and musicians bringing their talents to perform live for us. If you are in Iringa Town, do come in and check out what is coming up next in our programme.

We also regularly host exhibitions of local artists work in the conference room, giving a opportunity to showcase and sell their works and providing us with an ever-changing round of beautiful art to decorate our conference room walls.

Along side all this we also host concert nights with a wider range of musical styles, with local bands playing their latest songs to the Iringa chamber singers performing classical concerts and Ceilidhs allowing everyone to join in for a fun night of Scottish dancing.