MUISI-KONGO: He did not get his American citizenship until 2002 (after September 11). I don’t know how inter- ested he was in being an American citizen. I wonder if he was holding on to a dream of returning, but finally accepted that his family, community and life were here. KIAZI: Yeah, he had his green card. But in terms of giving up the Congolese passport, he wasn’t. He was real ‘African Bushman’ *chuckle*.
of home. As a friend, I can’t share everything that I’ve heard, but I’m certainly happy to have been invited in. Who makes up the Malonga family? MUISI-KONGO: Our Parents, Malonga Casquelourd; Dr. Faye McNair-Knox; Norma Jean Ishman-Brown; Cyn- thia Phillips. Their Children, Muisi-kongo Malonga; Kiazi Malonga; Lungusu Malonga; Boueta-Mbongo Malonga, and their Grandchildren: Malonga Matsoua
Hemil Koub; Ma’Syiah Malonga- May; Siama Mpandu Malonga; Ynez Nzolani Malonga. On Origin KIAZI: We are Kongo people who originated from [the area that is] modern-day Angola, northern Angola. Kongo dia Ntotela or “The Kongo Kingdom” included Angola, parts of Congo-Brazzaville, and Con- go-Kinshasa. MUISI-KONGO: Boko district. South- ern part of what is now the Republic of Congo. Before that our origins are in Mbanza Kongo in modern-day Angola. Our names are like a road map. Our dad always said that, you know, he gave us our names so that we wouldn’t get lost. I’m the first. Muisi-kongo, which means ‘one from the Kongo’, then Kiazi is num- ber two, the village that we come from. Lungusu is named after our great-grandfather. And lastly, Boue- ta-Mbongo is named after a prom- inent revolutionary figure in Con- golese history who fought fiercely against colonialism. On Parents KIAZI: [Our Father] had a whole mil- itary background prior to coming to this country. When the Congo got its independence in 1960, he was in his early teens and already very active politically. We have pictures of him with Mao Tse Tung, as part of a del- egation of young leaders sent by the Congolese government to China for special training. A lot of those people in the pictures were either killed or are in exile.
L to R: Kiazi Malonga; Muisi-kongo Malonga
Between fitting clothes, acclimating to the bodies in the space, and caring for the children, it takes us a few hours to get rolling. But after a few warm up shots, they begin to loosen up. Things go up a notch when the sounds of Koffi Olomide’s ‘Effrakata’ coming out of the speakers, hits its climax. The Malongas dip, drop, and sway with the ease and nuance of true children of the soil. Muisi-kongo Malonga and Kiazi Malonga are the chil- dren of Malonga Casquelourd, a world-renowned Con- golese dancer, drummer and choreographer who built an exceptional legacy in the traditional arts in the US, and spent half his life activating Congolese culture at the Alice Arts Center (now named after him), in Oakland, Califor- nia. Malonga developed a following at an early age as a dancer for Community Fetes, a network of indigenous cultural centers near Brazzaville, in the Congo Repub- lic, where he grew up. He was a principal dancer with the National Congolese Dance Company, toured Africa, Europe and the United States. In 1972 he went to New York, and was a co-founder of Tanawa, the first central African dance company in the US. Malonga moved to Oakland in the mid-1970s, and joined CitiCenter Dance Theater to teach Congolese dance and drum classes. From there, he created his own dance troupe, Fua Dia Congo. In this interview we hear from his first two children.
Muisi-kongo Malonga is a dancer and culture bearer dedicated to preserving culture and cultivating the heal- ing power of African arts traditions. As Artistic Director of Fua Dia Congo, Muisi-kongo continues the pioneering cultural preservation work begun in 1977 by her parents. She founded BottleTree Culture, a grassroots arts organi- zation to reanimate the presence of African cultural arts in her native East Palo Alto. Her current projects include Congo Danced A Nairobi Blues, a site-specific dance- theater production and Lufuki!, an international dance collaboration. Kiazi, a child protégé of his late father, who performed with his father’s Fua Dia Congo Performing Arts Com- pany from age of 6, became a lead performer, then Musical Director. He currently teaches drumming, and released his debut album, Tembo Kia Ngoma in March of 2021. The interview session with Kiazi and Muisi-kongo is mostly a listening session. I’m a co-passenger on a train overhearing close friends talk. I don’t even need to ask lead- ing questions. For the most part, I insert myself to ask qual- ifying questions, or to expand on something I heard. Like a friend who’s come to visit, sitting with siblings trading jabs at each other, except, this time it’s anecdotes and les- sons. Their father Malonga Casquelord is the enduring focal point. He is responsible for world building. He is the keeper
L-R: Matsoua, Muisi-kongo, Kiazi Malonga, and Siama
24
in dance SPRING 2023 24
SPRING 2023 in dance 25
In Dance | May 2014 | dancersgroup.org
unify strengthen amplify unify strengthen amplify
44 Gough Street, Suite 201 San Francisco, CA 94103 www.dancersgroup.org
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker