‘Kola nga bwoyiga ate oyige nga bwokola’: navigating dance pedagogies in technologically less advanced African environments during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic impacted dance practice in African communities, which at the time were still grappling with building technological infrastructure and resources to advance dance education, research, scholarship, and practice. How did the dance teachers and students in environments with less developed information and communication technological (ICT) infrastructure in African countries such as Uganda navigate online teaching and learning of dance during the covid-19 pandemic? This article engages the Kiganda education philosophy ‘kola nga bwoyiga ate oyige nga bwokola’ (learn as you do and do as you learn) as an analytical frame to unpack how the dance teachers and students in Uganda navigated dance pedagogies during the pandemic. The reflections of the teachers and students revealed how the pandemic dismantled the sense of community as an actual essence dance in local communities. The pandemic stirred a radical rethink on framing online and distance dance teaching and learning, applying context-centered and technologically-responsive pedagogies, and using motion picture tools to teach indigenous dance traditions. The discussion unpacks how ‘kola nga bwoyiga ate oyige nga bwokola’ centered pedagogic reimaginations and maneuvers to activate agency, adaptation, resilience, and contextualization, underscoring the value and relevance of Indigenous worldviews in overcoming ever-emerging barriers in dance education.

KEYWORDS:

• Dance education
• Covid-19
• African dances
• Dance pedagogy
• Indigenous knowledge
• ICT infrastructure

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Andrew M Mellon Foundation under the CHUSS Center of Excellence in Research, Teaching and Learning (CERTL), Makerere University.

Notes on contributors

Alfdaniels Mabingo

Alfdaniels Mabingo, PhD, is a dance researcher, scholar, performer, and educator currently serving as a Visiting fellow at Rutgers University in the U.S and Lecturer at Makerere University in Uganda. Born and raised in his ancestral village, Mbuukiro, on the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda, he has taught dance courses at NYU in the U.S., the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Jamaica. A recipient of the prestigious Fulbright fellowship, Mabingo’s research and artistic work weaves decolonization, interculturalism, postcolonialism, dance pedagogy, and African philosophy. His latest book is on ‘Ubuntu as Dance Pedagogy.’

Gerald Ssemaganda

Gerald Ssemaganda is a dance practitioner and educator. He is currently serving as an Assistant Lecturer in the department of Performing Arts and Film at Makerere University in Uganda. Ssemaganda obtained his Master’s Degree in Dance Knowledge, Practice, and Heritage (Choreomundus). His artistic practices and practice-led research explore Change and Continuity in Ugandan Traditional Dances as a resource for and an approach to Contemporary Dance Theatre.