Malawian documentary to premiere in USA
A Malawian documentary Malawi Nutcracker, a story of the Pandemic Project, is set to screen at the Scribe Video Centre in Philadelphia, United States of America (USA) on May 5.
The documentary follows the story of the Lilongwe Dance School, founded by Yamikani Phiri in collaboration with American Leslie Berman. It details the ballet dance programmes introduced at the school and the challenges faced, the major one being the Covid-19 pandemic.
During Covid-19, the institution was forced to deploy ‘out-Covid lessons’ and through that turmoil, one of the ballet students Tinyade Sharra qualified for a scholarship to study in USA to follow her dance dream.
Coordinator of the programme, Yolanda Kaluma, said in an interview yesterday: “She won two summer intensive course scholarships in New York and Philadelphia before being accepted into the Interlochen Centre for the Arts in Michigan.”
She said the screening of the documentary is an opportunity to inspire artists, entrepreneurs and all dreamers to learn from the resilience that Sharra’s journey demonstrates.
“Even here in Malawi, the glass ceiling can be broken and dreams can be achieved. It is a great opportunity to showcase Malawi in a positive light with the screening happening in the USA,” said Kaluma.
During her stay in the USA, Sharra has done a number of productions with the ballet institution.
The 18-year-old said her ambition is to elevate the status of ballet dancing upon her return to Malawi.
“Dance is a huge part of Malawian culture. My goal is to return home to teach and choreograph a new dance style that merges ballet with African dance and hip-hop,” she said.
Following Sharra’s escapades in the USA, three more Malawian ballet dancers Mica Palamuleni, Gabriela and Skylar Robertson have also earned scholarships to study in the USA.
The documentary was filmed between 2019 and 2021 by American filmmaker Frances McElroy, who has produced documentaries for the American Public Broadcasting Service and other non-governmental organisations on different topics.
The Lilongwe Dance School was founded in 2018 and it is a full-time, multi-disciplinary dance school with a goal of providing high-quality dance education to boys, girls and adolescents aged between three and 18.
During the day of the screening, Phiri, Sharra and Kaluma will participate in a panel discussion and engage in a question and answer session with the audience. The screening will also be showcased in Malawi virtually.
