Workshops, timetable, and performance info

MUDA offers five different workshops:
1. East African traditional dance
2. West African traditional dance
3. Afro dance
4. West African djembe drumming and
5. Afro orchestra.

You can participate in as many of these free workshops as you wish – even all five! Everyone is welcome, no previous experience needed. Below, you will see the workshop descriptions. Further down, you will find the timetable for the classes and final performance. If you need more info, feel free to contact us!

For all workshops, wear comfortable clothes that allow you to move freely. We mostly dance barefoot.

E

Step into the energy of ngoma! East African ngoma is a living tradition where dance, drumming, song, and storytelling come together. In this practical, performance – focused workshop, you’ll learn traditional dances from the region (with a strong focus on Tanzanian ngoma styles), exploring how rhythm and movement “speak” to each other through call and response, breaks, and shared cues. Ngoma is more than choreography: it’s a way communities celebrate, teach values, and mark important moments from weddings and harvests to coming of age ceremonies and social gatherings. Through ngoma, you’ll experience how humour, pride, unity, and social commentary can be carried through rhythm and the body.

You will learn core steps, posture, footwork, torso and arm movements for four traditional dances. You will dance with and listen to live drumming, cues for starts, breaks, and endings, explore formations (circles, lines, diagonals) and stage entrances / exits, and understand the cultural context of ngoma, its roots, when it’s performed, and what it expresses.

W

The coast of West Africa is literally overflowing with an abundance of dance styles. Dancing is an integral part of everyday life. Everyone dances, the old and the young, men and women, the rich and the penniless. The range of movements is breathtakingly rich, and the local dances and rhythms are extremely sophisticated. The sheer joy of dancing together, and a sense of pride in one’s personal cultural heritage, can be seen, felt, and heard practically everywhere you go.

In MUDA workshops, we will focus primarily on dances from Guinea and Senegal. We will learn how to listen to multi-layered rhythms and discover joy and a sense of togetherness through movement, instead of just mechanically executing the steps. We’ll also learn how to interact physically with live drumming, as top-level Finland-based artists will join us to accompany and energise the sessions. Come, come, it’ll be fun 😀

A

Afro dance classes will explore pan-African and popular diaspora styles, e.g. Afrobeat, Amapiano, Afro fusion and urban. We will learn social dances from clubs, streets, social media, and contemporary stages conveying creativity and youth culture. Contemporary African dance highlights innovation, pride in African identities, playfulness, and the blending of traditional roots with urban realities. It encourages personal expression and celebrates the community’s energy and resilience.

We will practice core Afro fusion techniques and learn to perform choreographies for 2–3 popular songs. We will also dance in sync with live music, responding to changes in tempo and energy. Learning to take control of our facial expressions will help us to focus and project confidence on stage.

W

The djembe is an incredibly popular and extremely versatile percussion that adapts to all kinds of genres. It is played on concert venues and in educational institutions by people of all ages around the world. Djembe’s origins are in West African Mande cultures, so that’s where we’ll dive in.

First, we will learn the basic hitting technique, the “alphabet” of the djembe. From here, we’ll move on to rhythmic accompaniments and hear about the background of each rhythm as well as the context in which they used to be played. We’ll learn to listen to one another and coordinate our patterns into a cohesive, engaging groove. We’ll practice signal cues to communicate with fellow musicians as well as dancers in a live setting. Finally, we’ll build more challenging rhythmic phrases to wow our audience especially during intros and strategic interludes.

A

Step into the rhythm of collaborative live afropop! This vibrant pan-African band unites professional musicians from the Sibelius Academy’s global music programme with talented enrolled kids who play an instrument or have strong music skills. Performing side by side with our dance troupe, they craft rearranged contemporary afropop medleys that sync seamlessly with every step and movement.

Students learn to adapt their playing to support the choreography, nailing tight ensemble starts and clean endings, shaping dynamic grooves, while staying flexible to match the dancers’ stage energy. The payoff? A high octane live performance where every musician and dancer shares the same pulse and unifying stage story.