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Tanzanian dance group comes to the University of Würzburg

06/09/2026

60 years of town twinning between Mwanza and Würzburg: to celebrate, the University of Würzburg is focussing on Tanzanian dances. A lecture on Wednesday, 17 June, and a workshop on Saturday, 20 June, are dedicated to these dances.

Tadhi Alawi (left) and Samwel Japhet offer insights into Tanzania’s dance scene during their lecture. In the workshop, they demonstrate how tradition and modernity come together in Chuma Chuma.
Tadhi Alawi (left) and Samwel Japhet offer insights into Tanzania’s dance scene during their lecture. In the workshop, they demonstrate how tradition and modernity come together in Chuma Chuma. (Image: Flaviamash)

The Tanzanian city of Mwanza and Würzburg are celebrating 60 years of twinning. The Nantea Dance Company is coming to the cathedral city to mark this anniversary. The dancers from Tanzania will give a lecture and offer a workshop at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) as part of the celebratory programme.

On Wednesday, 17 June 2026, from 16:15 to 17:45, Samwel Japhet and Tadhi Alawi, both founders of the Nantea Dance Company, will begin with a lecture on music and dance traditions from and in Tanzania. The event will take place in lecture hall III (Hörsaal III) of the Würzburg Residence.

On Saturday, 20 June, from 10 a.m. to 11.30 a.m., the dancer duo will perform in the foyer of the Neubaukirche. A dance workshop awaits interested parties there. The focus will be on Chuma Chuma. This dance style combines traditional Tanzanian forms of movement with contemporary elements and in this way conveys how different dance languages can be learnt and experienced. The workshop is organised by the JMU Institute of Music Research together with the City of Würzburg.

The lecture and workshop are open to all interested parties. Registration is not necessary.

About the Nantea Dance Company

Samwel Japhet and Tadhi Alawi founded the Nantea Dance Company in 2015 as a non-profit group for contemporary dance. It offers diverse performances and community-based projects and aims to help promote and develop the Tanzanian dance scene. The company's aim is to create high-quality dance works and build a culture in which art has value in its own right.

To the group's website

By Press Office JMU / Translated with DeepL

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