WOMAD

Risenga Makondo & Rosario Gracia-Luque

From South Africa, Spain

Risenga Makondo….South AfricaApril 2003Risenga ws born in the rural north of South Africa and has lived in Europe since 1988, where he studied visual and performing arts and music therapy. He is a talented and versatile percussionist and dancer who has performed around the world with artists as diverse as Amampondo, Alan Skidmore, Madosini and Benjamin Zephaniah.His own music and dance companies have performed in theatres throughout the UK and at the Edinburgh Festival, where the most recent ‘Jo’burg Streets’, a fusion of South African marimba music and contemporary British dance sounds, was featured on BBC 2 ‘Edinburgh Nights’.His musical talents have entertained Nelson Mandela during his 80th birthday celebrations. He was part of the welcoming performance for Miriam Makeba at the Royal Festival Hall, London and performed for the 1998 Five Nations Rugby Tour in South Africa. He is an inventive and innovative musician who can create music from ‘found objects, such as a piece of plastic pipe or an oil can but can also play a dazzling array of traditional African instruments including, drums, toned percussion, marimba, berimbau, mbira, horns, flutes which he collects on his travels. His renowned for his open-minded approach to music and his enduring interests as a performing artist are how music develops as it is adopted by different cultures and the challenge of maintaining musical diversity. Rosario Graci-Luque .... SpainAppril 2003Rosario’s career has embraced many forms of dance and over the years she has explored different styles including Egyptian, flamenco, salsa, samba and a variety of African dance traditions. She has been particularly interested in the influences and connections between Africa, South America and Spain that have shaped the Afro-Latin styles of dance which are experiencing a new found popularity in recent years. Originally from Spain, Rosario now lives and works in Brighton in the UK. She joined the Carnival Collective in 2000 and has performed extensively throughout Europe since. She trained at the Mangueira School of Samba in Rio de Janeiro with the renowned samba teacher, Romero. In 2001 she won the Queen of Bateria for the London School of Samba followed in 2002 with Queen of Bateria at the Paraiso School of Samba. Rosario divides her time between teaching and performing and her vivacious and dynamic performances have made her an intrinsic part of Samba events throughout Europe.