Hon. Loide Kasingo, deputy speaker at the national assembly and Dr Philippe
Talavera, OYO's director, discussing at the end of the event
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The Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (OYO) dance troupe was delighted to perform at parliament on Thursday 28 October. The performance was orchestrated by Hon. Juliet Kavetuna. Hon. Kavetuna was part of a MP delegation to South Africa in April 2010 where she attended a SADC conference organised by VSO/RAISA on HIV/AIDS and young people. OYO performed at the event and Hon. Kavetuna was thrilled to discover that Namibia had such a great troupe.
Upon return, she organised for the OYO dancers to perform at parliament, asking them to prepare a piece on HIV testing. In her opening remarks on 28 October, she explained ‘I was embarrassed to meet the OYO dance troupe in South Africa. We have such a fantastic group here in Namibia and we didn’t know about it. My aim today is to make sure members of parliament know about you.”
The troupe performed two pieces: ‘I should go’, telling the story of a young man (Nyandee Mbarandongo) who is afraid to go for a HIV test. He thinks life is easier to live when one lives in ignorant bliss. When both of his girlfriends appear to be HIV positive, he gets very anxious. But will he find the courage to go for the test? The second piece, ‘I’m not alone’, looks at the issue of stigma and discrimination. It looks at what happens in a society where people do not support one another versus what happens when people help each other.
Both pieces were extremely well received. At the end of the performance, Hon. Loide Kasingo, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, was so thrilled she asked to say few words. She said that she had never seen anything like that in her life and congratulated the dancers wholeheartedly. She promised that she will do all that humanly possible to ensure the OYO dancers are invited to perform at the opening of the national assembly on 15 February 2011. She feels all the MPs should see the piece, since it will help them reflect on the situation. Hon. Kasingo believed the performance should be shown across the country since the message is so clear and efficient.
Dr Philippe Talavera, choreographer for both pieces and director of OYO, stated ‘we were delighted to perform at parliament. It was a great honour for us. We normally perform in schools and target learners. It was rewarding to see that our work was so well received with adults too. Our dancers worked really hard to prepare a breathtaking performance and they reached their goals. Our MPs will remember those pieces for a very long time.’ Hon. Kavetuna was delighted at the end of the performance and congratulated all the dancers.
On 29 October, the OYO dance troupe performed at the closing ceremony of the SADC leadership forum on Health Information System (HIS).
The OYO dance troupe 2010 comprises Nyandee Mbarandongo (performer and assistant director), Dennis !Kharuchab, Norman Kapunda, Zito daCunha, West Uarije, Lines Ndjorowoli, El-Juanita Philander, Paulina Tjitana, Mercy Khaises and Jessica Augustus.
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